


The Ryuk Chronicles

by GypsumLilac (RyftWyrd)



Series: Finished Works [4]
Category: Underfell -AU, Undertale
Genre: 18+, ;P, Aliens, Alphys and Undyne have a healthy sex life., Character Development, Complete, Dark, Flawed characters, Hate to Love, Humor, Language, Matchmaking, Matured characters, Monsters in spaaaaaace, Monsters in the Star Trek universe, Multi, Other, Papyrus is an Admiral, Papyrus isn't always screaming in all-caps, Rating - Mature, Relationships are the main focus, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death, Warning for ANIME, based on Underfell AU, diversity, dynamic reader, first draft, genderless reader, graphic violence/injury, multiple POVs, no knowledge of Star Trek required, nonbinary reader, only when flustered or angry, reader's appearance is left ambiguous, space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-07-11 13:51:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 99,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19929106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyftWyrd/pseuds/GypsumLilac
Summary: Space!! The Final Frontier!! But what lies beyond the reaches of the Milky Way? Our intrepid heroes are about to find out as they embark on a dangerous quest to return home after getting trapped in the Andromeda galaxy, approximately 2.5 million light years away from home. No knowledge of Star Trek required.Papyrus/Reader. Action. Random Goofiness. If you're searching desperately for an oasis in the parched desert of harems and fontcest, here you go.COMPLETE as of 10/10/19EDIT - 2/18/20: A second draft is on the way!! I'm going to leave this version up and post the new draft as a separate work called "To Ignite A Soul". It may take a month or two for me to finalize the polished version, but I hope it will be worth the wait. There's quite a number of things that I've changed in the second/final draft, so I'm looking forward to sharing it!!





	1. Even If I Plug My Ears

**Author's Note:**

> you might want to turn on creator style if you have it turned off, cause I have a work skin I'm using for the dividers and other style stuff. But, uh, your choice. also credit for the work skin code for the dividers goes to a lovely AO3 author named La_Temperanza who has written a lot of good tutorials on how to use the AO3 work skins. 
> 
> [!!OPENING THEME!! (Love Trial)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCGGxr1GPN0)
> 
> "To Ignite A Star, To Watch It Roam, Blazing, Out Of All Control, Until It Implodes, Becoming A Black Hole"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chapter Revision Complete*

Federation protocol for red alert on most ships involve adrenaline-inducing flashing lights and blaring sirens. The calm shuffle of feet through the halls of the Manta-class dreadnought _Liltha_ , however, bely the nervous tension running through every crew's veins. There's no running, no shouting, no deafening lights or blinding sounds, just a peaceful flow of people to their stations. They split around you as you vacuum the corridor, some giving a shove or slap as they pass.

An eery silence pervades the starship. You continue to clean, making your way slowly down each corridor. When you reach a viewport, you pause to indulge in a glance to the battle being waged outside. Admiral Eleos's fleet is the finest in the Federation. And you're on his flagship. The ships outside swerve amongst the asteroids, performing evasion and strike tactics that would never be possible in any planet's atmosphere.

The battle doesn't last long before you see one of the enemy ships slam into an asteroid, its brakes destroyed, and the other two enemy ships shudder and come to a standstill as their engines are destroyed and grapples attach to their hulls to restrain them. The admiral is known for taking creative approaches to destroying ships, such as targeting the braking systems so that evasive maneuvers are impossible. Already there's several runabouts descending to strip the ships of valuable resources: water, atmosphere, weapons, fuel, graphite. The dread Space Reaper always takes whatever he can get from his defeated foes, but for some reason always takes the crews captive instead of killing them. He always manages to trade the prisoners for more resources, though, so nobody questions it.

You return to your cleaning. You'll hear about any excitement later in the mess hall. Hopefully this will be the last battle for a while. As exciting as battles are, you can't wait for the fleet to finally start exploring promising M class planets.

* * *

Admiral Papyrus Eleos, commander of the flagship _Liltha_ and the Dragonfly fleet, paces in his office. His number one, dressed in the Federation-issued gold and black, waits stiffly for instruction. "What in the blazing stars is the High Council _thinking_??" Papyrus snaps.

"Unknown, sir." The commodore replies.

Papyrus glances to his number one's name-tag to be sure of which one they're using today before he addresses the half-Vulcan/half-Klingon again. "Figure it out, K'talla."

She nods, the ghost of a tired smile peeking through her fierce purple eyes. "Aye, sir."

Papyrus scowls down at the desk where the new orders float in crisp holographic detail. His fleet is tired. The ten ships have been campaigning for five years now, and they're all ready to take some well-deserved shore leave. But the damn _Federation_ orders the fleet to keep moving, keep fighting, keep _dying_ because everyone is exhausted. The last battle saw one of his ships nearly destroyed because of a few stupid mistakes that could have been easily avoided if the crew had just got the rest they needed. He won, of course, but not without taking damage.

"We'll set a course for Kavort-Nine." He decides. "We'll get repairs there and then make the trades for the prisoners. I'll speak with the High Council after that."

K'talla nods and tucks her naturally pink hair behind her dark-grey ridged ears. "Rifli bless."

Papyrus grunts gruff agreement and offers a gloved hand in dismissal. K'talla takes the hand and bows over it, planting a kiss in the air above his phalanges. "Out of my sight, petaQ." He snarls good-naturedly and K'talla smirks with her sharp fangs peeking out from pomegranate-red lips.

"Aye, sir." She turns and marches out, the door giving a satisfied hiss as it closes behind her. As soon as she's gone, Papyrus lets out a frustrated screech and spins to punch the wall. The plating shudders under his fist, which stings as the force jolts up his arm.

 _Damn_ the Federation. _Damn_ those pencil-pushing bastard Vulcans who know _nothing_ of the reality of space travel or of warfare. Even _Klingons_ know to give their soldiers furloughs to keep them strong. And _Ferengi_! Ferengi know the value of vacations! Every thought only serves to make Papyrus more furious until he's close to considering mutiny against the High Council. But he can't do that. Not only would he be killed and his people be locked up, but Sans would be left without support and protection.

When he's composed himself, he stomps out onto his bridge. His officers stand at attention until he snaps a salute and barks, "At ease!" K'talla has already gone back to her ship, the Raptor-class battlecruiser _Ylmev_. Papyrus adjusts the ragged crimson scarf around his neck, fixes the indigo cape which flows from his shoulders to his knees, and throws a hand out in a dramatic gesture. "Set a course for Kavort-Nine!" He commands, then shoots out more orders for his Coms officer, Lieutenant Dexi Qir, to relay to the other ships in the squadron. She, being Betazoid and therefore an empath, bites her lip in concern at the dark storm building in his chest, but Papyrus ignores her, since all she'd suggest to do would be to see the counselor. He's not sure who the counselor on this ship is, and he doesn't care. He's fine. Everything will be fine.

* * *

"Fuck, dude, just tell her." You tell Thyr as they crouch on a loveseat that's just barely big enough to fit them. Agar, the male head, clicks his beak in frustration. Aras, female, lifts her wine-stained lips and hisses in disgust.

"We can't just _tell_ Kyrie," Aras says, her voice rough. "No, we need to make it grand," Agar agrees in a contrastingly silky voice.

You consider the Fae sitting in front of you. Quetzal for Agar, cobra for Aras, and the shared lower half of a grizzly bear. They've been offered the use of a glamour but, like most other Fae, they refused.

"Duh." You reply. "So make it grand. Make it the best damn show in the squadron. Wine, stereo, lights, _action_."

When Thyr has left after brainstorming increasingly flamboyant ideas for confessing, you spin around with your chair thoughtlessly. Ever since the actual counselor accidentally spaced himself, you've been filling in. And as of yet, nobody has noticed that the bumbling moron has been replaced with a brash smartass. Counseling the crew has its advantages. You get to hear what's going on in the ship. But sometimes you wish you could just strangle some people. Particularly the ones who come looking for advice, but then never change anything, no matter how fucking great the advice is.

"hey." 

"Fuck you." You tell the intruder and continue to spin. 

"great work so far." He says.

"Tell me something I _don't_ know:" You reply.

"my bro needs some help."

You stop spinning to face the Fae and shrug eloquently, everything that could be said transmitted from your eyes to his sockets in a daggery glare. Damn bastard dunked your favorite blanket in plasma as a ' _prank_ '. Totally unfair, considering that you only hid his coat for a week.

"it's your _job,_ isn't it?" He says, his skeletal grin widening sadistically so that the gold tooth glints in the soft light.

"Su~re" You sing, trying to be obnoxious, "I'll help your widdle~ bwuthah. _Bruh_."

Sans's grin widens further, ignoring your rudeness. "thanks, pal. be good to him." You blink and he's gone, the smell of sriracha lingering behind.

Check the time, and it's already almost time for the midshift meal for the third shift. So you sigh and stomp to the galley to prepare food, your cheat sheet of everyone's likes, dislikes, and allergies no longer necessary as you have it memorized after four years of cooking meals since the actual chef ran off with a cute Rigellian boy.

You're not technically supposed to be on this ship. In this uniform. With these people. The only reason you even ever started being the _janitor_ in the first place was because five years ago when the squadron's campaign began, the chief janitor was assassinated by Section 31 for being a Romulan spy. You just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Sans knows that, but he doesn't care. He just lets you keep doing whatever you're doing and calls in a favor every now and then. Usually it's help with a prank, in which case you gladly assist him.

The bridge officers are first to arrive in the galley for food. Ensigns, most of them. The third shift in space is comparable to night shift on a planet, and is often still called the graveyard shift. They serve themselves from the pots. Everyone is mentally worn out and snappish at you. You're used to being their scapegoat.

"Fuck, those bastards just won't cut us a break!!" A burgundy-hued Klingon slams his fist on the table he shares with two other people, his loud voice drawing the attention of the rest of the mess hall.

"Yo, we could be on Rigel right now, chilling with the babes!" An ensign purple-slime Fae calls out in agreement.

"I signed on for a three-year campaign." You lie glibly. "Thought it was gonna be mostly exploring the far reaches of the galaxy."

"See, even the moron agrees! But it's been _five years_ with no pay and no fucking way out!"

You barely restrain yourself from screeching, _wait, they don't PAY anyone??_ What?? You have no way of accessing any of the records of the people you replaced, so pay is out of the question for _you_ but you thought the Federation would at least pay their _soldiers_. "Yeah, no shit, the Fed's messed up." You say, throwing caution to the wind. "Hey, wouldn't it be great if we crashed on an M class planet? Y'know, just long enough to get some starsdamned rest?"

The Klingon nods slowly in consideration. The slime Fae burbles in agreement. There are mutters all around, but they're of thoughtful regard and not of dissent.

"You know one nearby??" Someone pipes up.

You smirk. " _Actually_." You do, indeed.

* * *

Papyrus wakes to the strident alarm in his earpiece, the _Liltha'_ s customizable version of the red alert. The soft whine coming from the walls is the universal alert, in case someone doesn't have their earpiece or badge on. Papyrus flicks his earpiece's alarm off and stomps out to the bridge.

He stops short and takes in the situation as it unfolds; several of the third shift officers whoop as they steer the ship into the atmosphere of an M class planet--the rest of the squadron is nowhere to be seen. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS??" He roars. "DRAW AWAY."

The helmsman hesitates and the other officers stare at him guiltily. " ** _NOW_**!" He commands and the helmsman obeys, pulling away from the planet just before hitting the atmosphere. Ensign Jazz, first shift helmsman, strides in behind Papyrus and shoves the third shift helmsman out of her way, taking control. "Set a course for Kavort-Nine to rejoin the squadron." Papyrus intones and Jazz nods once. "WHILE _YOU_ ** _IDIOTS_** WILL COME WITH _ME_." He turns and stomps out, expecting them all to follow him. The other first shift officers pass him on their way to take over the bridge.

When he reaches the brig, he turns and watches his guilty officers file in. He locks the cell on them and crosses his arms over his ribs. "What the _HELL_ Were You Doing??"

A Klingon Ensign grunts, "We just wanted a break. The damn Feds have been riding our asses for five years with no pay, and we're sick of it."

Papyrus grips the bridge of his non-existent nose. "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO _TALK TO ME??"_ He screeches. "I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THEM TO LET US HAVE A BREAK AND, YES, _PAY US_ TOO, BUT NOW THANKS TO YOUR LITTLE MUTINOUS STUNT, NOBODY IS GOING TO GET A BREAK FOR AT LEAST TWENTY MORE YEARS!! AND YOU HAVEN'T JUST SCREWED YOURSELVES OVER, _NO_ , YOU'VE SCREWED OVER MY _ENTIRE_ GODDAMNED FLEET!!"

Somebody starts to whimper. Papyrus glares at each of the mutineers. "WHOSE IDEA WAS IT."

Everyone steps back and points to a crew in the back. They smirk and wave insolently.

Papyrus glares at them. He doesn't recognize them by face, but that could just mean they're one of the more obscure assignments. "NAME." He demands.

"Ryuk." They say, unflinching. "I came to explore, not fight for five years without rest."

"You're Responsible For Inciting These Idiots To Mutiny??"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You're All Detained Here Until I Decide Otherwise, Thanks To Your Friend _Ryuk_." Papyrus growls. "Be Thankful I Don't Report This."

Ryuk almost smiles, but manages to hide it. Not in time, though, as Papyrus fixes a scowl at them. "WHAT'S SO FUNNY??"

"Nothing, sir. Just wondering how your crew will like you after you've locked up the cook." They say with a glint behind the serious look on their face. 

"You're Forgetting Yourself, Crewman." Papyrus says shortly. "There Are Plenty Of People On This Ship Who Can Cook." He turns and stomps out, leaving the mutineers locked in the brig.

He has to change around the assignments for the next couple months to make up for the loss of thirteen officers. When he's less tired, he'll deal with demotions and promotions, but not at the moment. Back on the bridge, he slumps into his chair.

"Sir! We're on our way to Kavort-Nine."Ensign Jazz Kirk pipes up, her normally cheerful voice now deadly serious.

"You should get some sleep, Admiral." Dexi Qir says gently,leaning over him, her dark brown eyes watery with concern. Damn Betazoids- actually, the Trill inside her might have increased her empathy as well.

"I will sleep later. I need to fix the schedule." Papyrus replies.

"I can do that!" His Chief of Operations, Lieutenant Esther, says.

"Go. You need to take care of yourself." Dexi says.

Papyrus sighs heavily. "I don't suppose ordering you to let me stay up here would do any good."

"I can call the Doctor up here, and they would agree with us." Qir grins wickedly. As the Coms officer, she has access to every crew on the ship.

Papyrus flips his officers off and they salute back. "You dastardly scoundrels, conspiring against me like this!" He says tiredly. "Very well, you win. I will retire to my quarters. Don't disturb me unless it's an emergency."

* * *

Being stuck in the brig is the most boring thing ever. You stay huddled in the corner as the others shoot glares at you. You pull your deck of Cardassian playing cards from your jacket, deciding to make the best of the situation. "What's that, moron??" The Klingon, Fred, asks and snatches them away as you shuffle them around. The next weeks are spent eating, sleeping, and watching your cellmates play different card games with your deck.

The boss skeleton comes in several weeks after the event, and you quicklysnatch the cards back to hide them. He scowls at everyone. "We have been preparing for the next mission, and my officers have voted that it would be best if all hands were on deck." He says. "To that end, I have some further punishments to hand out."

The prisoners wait in silence. Everyone knows he's talking about demotions. He opens the door. "You may all leave. You will receive your new assignments at your quarters."

You can tell that quite a few of your brigmates are relieved that he's not making it a public affair. "Great!" You cheer, despite having a bad feeling that you should probably keep your head down. You've already incurred his wrath. You don't need to draw any more attention to your illegal existence on this ship.

"You will stay here." The skeleton stops you with a severe glare.

" _Gulp_."

He scowls deeper at your light attempt at humor. "You are not one of my officers." As if that wasn't obvious. "I have no need for a cook in this mission, so you will be staying here and I will deal with you further afterwards."

"No prob, cap." You snap off a mock salute.

For some reason, the skeleton looks immensely insulted by that. You can't imagine why. It's not like you're being incredibly insubordinate or anything. "You Have One Chance To Refer To Me By My Proper Title."

"U-uh- sorry, Captain." You reply, not wanting to get in any more trouble.

The skeleton sneers, somehow, you're not sure how he manages without lips. "I AM NO MERE CAPTAIN, YOU FOOL. How did you even get into Starfleet??" He points out the badge on his uniform. "I am an Admiral."

You try desperately to think of something to say to lead him away from the obvious and correct conclusion that you're not actually supposed to be here. "Eh." You say intelligently. "Does the distinction matter?"

The Admiral looks like he may very well explode. "YES??" He screeches. "ADMIRAL IS A HIGHLY EXALTED POST AND I AM THE MOST DESERVING OF ALL THE ACCOLADES THAT COME WITH IT! DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF CALLING ME A MERE CAPTAIN AGAIN!!"

"Ye-yes, sir." You find yourself saluting. "Understood."

"A FEW MORE WEEKS IN THE BRIG SHOULD SHARPEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING QUITE WELL, I THINK." He replies hotly, then stomps out, his cape fluttering behind him.

You're left to play card games by yourself.

"wow. you really fucked that up." Ugh. Sans.

"Yeah??" You snap without looking up from your game. The cards glow indigo and fly out of your reach. "Hey!" You grab for them desperately but they slip through the forcefield and you get zapped. "Ow." Glare at him. " _Rude_. Give them back." 

Sans grins at you and shuffles the cards in the air without touching them. "that was my bro."

"Aw, shit." You groan; you really should have guessed from the shared skeletal nature, but Fae are so weird that his bro coulda been a slime for all you knew. "I realize I fucked up, please can you give my cards back?"

"you shouldn't have these." Sans replies with a shit-eating grin. "they're illegal."

"I'm in the fucking brig, the legality of having cards is really not the issue right now."

"oh yeah?" He says lightly. "what's the issue, then?"

You backtrack immediately and put on a contrite face. "I- That is. I'm sorry, I was stupid."

"yeah, ya were." He agrees. "but i ain't gonna throw you off the ship for this one mistake."

You grin smarmily to hide your relief. "I knew you wouldn't ice your ol' buddy! Can I hav-"

"but the _next_ might be your last." He grins back and pockets your cards. "have fun, _buddy_."

And then he's gone. You slump onto the cold hard floor in despair. Yeah, you're having _so much fun_ right now.

* * *

The viewport shows the enemy Alliance ships descending into Thorn Brand, a dangerous area of nebulas, asteroid fields, and rumors of wormholes. Jazz looks to Papyrus, who nods. "Maintain pursuit."

"Aye, sir."

Papyrus look around to the rest of his officers. Dexi keeps the rest of the fleet updated, ready to relay his commands. Ensign Esther, meanwhile, keeps tabs on the operations of the _Liltha_. Lieutenant-Commander Se'Vir, Security Chief, leaves to make rounds and prepare the boarding parties. Lieutenant Suzy, Tactical Chief, runs simulations in preparation for the upcoming battle _._

"Ready to give'em hell, sir?" Commander Luon, Chief of Science, adjusts his sunglasses and grins with sharp teeth. 

"Bet Your Asses On It." Papyrus hisses gleefully and throws out a hand in a grand gesture. "We'll Slit The Alliance's Goddamned Throat."

* * *

Behind the asteroids of the Thorn Brand, hidden amongst the nebulas, several starships lie in wait. The insignias on their sides are rusty and scratched out, but the build and make of each ship is unmistakably Alliance. The fleet being chased by Papyrus approaches and boarding parties are swapped between the two fleets as a heavy-interference jammer creates a wide field of zero-contact.

Unaware of their impending doom, the Dragonfly fleet flies straight into the pincer jaws of the two fleets. Ten ships versus thirty. Two Dragonflies are dead in space within the first thirty minutes of the battle. The Alliance descends on the Dragonflies, forcing them deeper into the Thorn Brand. A third Dragonfly is crushed by asteroids. A fourth is boarded. The remaining six manage to destroy twenty-two enemy ships by hiding and picking them off.

But finally. One by one. Each remaining starship in the Dragonfly fleet is either boarded or destroyed. The Alliance takes the victory.

* * *

In a galaxy far far away, several be-tentacled aliens argue in their language of signing and clicking.

In a star system several million light years away, the Vulcan High Council, the organization in total control over the Federation, agrees on a cease-fire with the Alliance.

But in the Alliance starship anchored barely three thousand meters away from the _Liltha_ who floats dead in space, none of that matters. A scarred and fearsome Fae stomps down the ramp into her bridge, her golden eyes bright above a shark-toothed grin. "Fuhuhuhu, if this is what it takes for a family reunion, I shoulda done this YEARS ago!!" She yanks the chain in her hand, which is shackled to a groveling dinosaur, who giggles wildly.

In the Queen's brig, two massive goat-lion Fae huddle on opposite ends of the cell, glaring anywhere but at each other. In between the two, a Human sits and sulks. In another cell, a marvelously fabulous Android paces, his four arms gesturing with increasing fervor as he plans his great escape, playing to the security cameras.

And in the _Liltha_ , two brothers stare across the room at each other, sockets widening almost comically in sync as the magisuppression kicks in and they both fall to their knees.

The Alliance soldiers truss the two up, dragging them down to the brig of the _Liltha,_ since the Queen wants to speak to the brothers before she lets them on her ship. Every single crew on every single ship in the Dragonfly squadron has been neutralized, whether by surrender or death. There is no hope now.


	2. the firestorm ignites

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Chapter Revision Complete*

The burbling of the Alliance's common tongue coming closer is your only warning that the ship has been captured before a Cardassian and a Klingon waltz into the brig like they own it. The Klingon grins with scarily sharp teeth when she sees you. "Hey!" She shouts in rough Vulcan, the official language of the Federation. "Look what we got!!"

You grin and clap your hands together, then speak in the Alliance common, which is mostly an evolved dialect of Romulan. "Great, can you let me out now?? That dumbass skeleton locked me in here for doing your dirty work."

"Name?" The Cardassian hisses, lashing her deep-blue scaly tail in suspicion.

"My name is T'seq." You tell them the name of the traitor whose identity you leaked to Sans, oh, maybe two years ago. T'seq lasted maybe fifty seconds in the total vacuum of space. If you could _shapeshift_ like two of your parents, maybe you could be even more convincing, but now you can only hope they've never seen T'seq.

"Oh yeah, that bitch the queen sent on a suicide mission." The Klingon laughs. "You're still alive, huh?"

"Obviously." You grumble. "Now let me out."

"Yeah, yeah, we've gotta make room for the bone-bastards anyway."

The Cardassian continues to glare at you even after the Klingon has opened the door. You step out and stretch lazily. "Well? How can I help?"

"By _dying_."

The Klingon elbows the Cardassian. "No threatening our new friend, M'rer."

M'rer hisses, shaking her turquoise dreadlocks. "Hey, want help hauling those asses into the brig?"

The Klingon grins. "Sure!" She leads you out to the hall, where Sans and the Admiral lay conked out. You run your hands through your hair with a yawn, then grab Sans. He shifts slightly in your arms. Quietly, you slip a sharpened hairpin into his hands chained behind his back and his fingers tighten around it. You can't check his pockets for your cards, as the two Alliance might notice. If you had magic, you could try to take them out, but you don't without the deck, so you can't.

M'rer struggles to lift the rather larger Admiral's legs in order to drag him. "How'd you even get them down here if you can't lift them?" You ask in an exasperated voice.

"We had help. But they left." The Klingon grumbles, rubbing her pale-orange temples with one hand.

"Here." You hand her Sans and then go to help with the Admiral. You kick him a bit harder than necessary, letting a look of disgust cross your face. "Damn bastard. Why don't we just kill them??"

"Shh!" The Klingon growls. "Not so loud. The Queen might hear."

"O-oh, sorry. She obviously wants them alive- but they're more trouble than it's worth." You whisper.

"Agreed." M'rer says. You bend down to pick the Admiral up by the shoulders. Both the skeletons have metal collars snapped around their necks--magisuppressors. The Admiral seems to be out cold, unlike Sans, so you just wiggle another hairpin into his scarf.

Then you help carry the two into the brig. "Hey, you two should probably stand guard, but I wouldn't suggest closing the door, since it has a timed lock and I don't know when the Queen wants to see them." You lie to them.

"Yeah, sure. Go find Du'Qal, he should be on the bridge, he'll give you an assignment." The Klingon says and grips your offered hand in a firm shake.

"Thanks, I won't forget this." You speak in the harshly melodic dialect used among the Klingon sects sided with the Alliance. The Klingon's grin widens.

"Today is a good day to die." She says back in the same tongue.

"Damn right." You turn away and offer a hug to M'rer.

She growls and flushes grey, "Idiot." You pout at her but then march away to find a runabout and supplies.

Ha, you've done enough for the boneheaded idiots. You're outta here, farewell, sayonara. There's no obligation for you to rescue the entire ship, and it's not like a single powerless _mutt_ is gonna make a difference anyway. So when you climb onto one of the few uncompromised runabouts and sit in the helm, you don't feel guilty at all, only fearful of where you'll go after this to stay under your parents' radar. You definitely don't sit there contemplating strategies, instead wondering whether to join the Alliance or not. But you're startled out of your nervous reverie when someone shouts in your ear, "Y-yo, hands up!"

* * *

Doctor MK was having a pretty bad day. Three of his nurses died in the battle, and several of his patients were killed or captured. He tried to perform triage for his crew, but he finally had to go into hiding on a runabout. He would never think of fleeing and abandoning his post, so he didn't turn it on, he just hid there and hoped nobody would find out what a coward he was.

Of course, things never work out the way he plans. And Commander Luon, the Ferengi Science officer, enters on him huddling in the corner. So Luon huddles beside him. "Want a chocolate, Doctor?" The Ferengi offers him a rare Terran treat.

"Y-yo, what are we supposed to do??" MK hates how scared and small his voice sounds, just like when he was a child and the popular kids were making fun of him for not being _girly_ enough.

"Hide, I suppose." Luon says. "What we both seem to be doing. And then when it all dies down, maybe we can organize a rebellion. A resistance force to retake the ship. Eat the chocolate, Doctor, it will help."

MK takes the chocolate and eats it. He's gotten accustomed to having a glamour that allows him the use of forelimbs. The chocolate fizzles in his mouth and dissipates somewhere down his throat. It's not just Terran chocolate, it's a Fae recipe. "Thanks." MK mutters, despondent. He plays with the orange crystal pendant around his neck. It glows softly.

"You can owe me a favor later." Luon laughs softly, baring his teeth, which have been ground to fine points. "When we survive this."

"If we survive."

"When." Luon repeats, patting MK's head with his deep copper hand, his certainty echoing in MK's soul.

They stay in the runabout for a long while. Eventually, Luon gets up and feels around the small ship for weapons. He finds them and hands a phaser to MK. "I set it to ten." Luon tells the doctor. The levels five and up are lethal.

"I'm putting it to four." MK retorts.

Luon huffs. "We're at war, Doctor. If you want to have crewmates to heal, you'll have to show no mercy to the enemy.

And then the runabout door opens and somebody enters. They sit at the helm, but instead of turning it on or even activating the lights,they seem to just stare at the screens. Luon starts to rise, but MK thinks he knows this person. So he leaps up silently and presses the point of his phaser to their head. "Y-yo, hands up!" His voice comes out louder than he expected.

They yelp, then sigh in relief. "Mil-Gwedh, that you?" 

"Ryuk!" MK spins the chair around and hugs his friend. "Yo, you're free??"

"Yeaaaah." They draw out the vowels. "I may have pretended to be a traitor... and I may have left the Admiral with the enemy... and I _might_ be considering running away and never looking back." They grin bashfully and shrug. "Glad to see you're still alive, though. Want to come with me?"

MK trembles with hot rage. "You- you IDIOT!!" He wails. "All my friends are dead or- or captured!! Yo, I can't just _leave_ them!! And you- you _left_ Papyrus with the _enemy_??!! Y- _You_!! _FUCK_ _YOU_!!"

"Woah, chillax." Ryuk seems decidedly uncomfortable with MK's emotional outburst. Luon comes up behind MK and places a comforting hand on his shoulder. The orange glow from his pendant, which had flared with his shout, dims again. 

"You're not running." Luon says decisively. "You're going to help us."

Ryuk shrugs again. "Fine."

"And _apologize_." Luon continues sharply.

They look down. "I- um- sorry."

"Good job! Now, here's the plan!" Luon takes MK's hand and motions Ryuk to join the two as they sit on the floor. MK feels a bright spark of something in his soul as he listens to Luon, clever Luon, lay out the strategy that will definitely work.

* * *

The Queen sits on her throne, petting the scaled head of her lover, who whimpers in ecstasy. "Hey, PUNKS!!" She shouts at her officers. "Are those boneheads awake yet??"Then she mutters under her breath, "This is too easy."

"No, my queen." One replies, a pale-silver Romulan whose name she doesn't care to remember.

"Fuhuhu, ready the _Alphyne_ anyway! I wanna be down there in an hour!" She slams her fist on the console beside her. It sparks, but holds up, having been designed by the Royal Scientist herself to withstand all sorts of trauma.

"M-my- my love, would, would you c-care for a victory sm-smooch?"

Undyne gives Alphys a stern glare and rattles the chain. "WOULD I??" What would Undyne do? Her glare transforms into a wide grin. "FUCK YES!!!" She yanks Alphys to herself and the two engage in deep explorations of each other's mouths. The officers restrain their sighs, not daring to make any noise as the Queen and her lover make increasingly obscene sounds.

And then. "U-uh- my queen?" The Romulan says hesitantly.

Undyne shoots him with a vicious glare. "What??" She hisses. The Romulan shudders.

"Th-the _boneheads_."

"Oh, are they awake?? Great!! Now don't interrupt me."

"Yes, b-but! Th-they- they escaped!"

Undyne stares down the poor Romulan. "They. What." She says softly. The crystal bracelet around her wrist glows red with the force of her rage.

"Escaped!" He squeaks.

"How."

"They- used their magic-"

" _WHAT_??" She explodes. "HOW THE _FUCK_ DID THEY DO THAT?? YOU _IDIOTS_ WERE SUPPOSED TO PUT THE DOOHICKEYS ON THEM!!"

"C-c-collars, honey."

"So-somehow- they got the collars off-" The Romulan bravely continues to not faint despite the terrifying sight of his Queen's ire.

Undyne falls silent, thinking. Obviously she has a traitor in her midst. "Call the Doggos." She snarls. "We're going down there and we're fucking having a goddamn family reunion whether those goddamned boneheads WANT IT OR NOT!!"

* * *

In the bowels of the _Liltha_ , Sans works on hacking the ship's subroutines while Papyrus stands guard. Sans refuses to say who gave him the hairpin, but Papyrus has an idea, as the brig had a distinctive lack of that one troublesome crew called Ryuk. He has no idea how Ryuk managed to convince the guards to leave the door unlocked, either, but that plus the hairpin in Sans's hand allowed the two to get the magisuppressors off and subdue the two Alliance bastards guarding them.

Sans grunts with satisfaction as the lights turn off. "okay, bro, i got it, but we need to get into the engine room to finish the job."

"That might be a problem, Sans." Papyrus grumbles. "Are you sure you can't do it from here??"

"yeah, sorry, bro."

Papyrus heaves a long-suffering sigh. "Very well. Stay behind me."

The two brothers make their way silently through the ship, passing dead crew and enemies alike. Anybody who might still be alive has been taken to the Alliance ships. Papyrus isn't sure why they didn't take himself and his brother to another ship as well. It doesn't matter, though. He has to free his people. That's the important thing.

Anger boils in his soul, but he keeps it contained. It would be no use to unleash it now. No, Papyrus has learned patience through the long years of working hard to get where he is- where he used to be. He'll fight to get it all back. But he'll be smart about it.

The intercom crackles overhead. * _Would all Alliance crew kindly meet in the mess hall, where the Queen has a gift for you all._ *

Papyrus frowns. The voice was heavily distorted and talking in the Alliance common, but something felt off about it. "Nobody would be idiotic enough to fall for that." He grumbles to Sans, but nonetheless the thought that some of his crew might still be alive and planning a coup drives him onward with renewed determination.

* * *

You grumble as you crawl through the jefferies tubes to get to that one spot above the bridge that you regret ever telling MK about. The heavy railgun slung over your back doesn't help matters. The message about the mess hall was a red herring. Nobody in the Alliance is going to fall for it, but if any of the _Liltha's_ crew is still alive, they might be encouraged. Luon is busy attempting to get to Engineering to see if there's any survivors, while MK hacks into the subroutines.

* _Yo._ * MK's voice says in your earpiece. * _I got in... but someone else has already been here._ *

"Just get the helm and get out." You hiss.

* _Huh? That's weird-_ *

You reach the bridge and flick the transmitter off so that you'll be harder to detect. Then position yourself so that you can shoot down into the enclosed space below. There seem to be around ten people at the moment, but more will come. You pull out a grenade and slip the pin out before dropping it into the bridge and ducking back.

The explosion booms and people scream. You screw your eyes shut and shoot indiscriminately down into the Alliance. You really don't want to die, so before they can shoot back, you retreat.

There's only silence below. Whether they're forming tactics to return fire or they're all dead, you have no way of knowing. And you're not going to stick around to find out. You crawl back through the tubes until you're a safe distance away, then you switch back on your earpiece. "Yo."

* _Who the FUCK are you??_ *

Earpiece off. That- was not MK. That sounded like a Human. A very angry Human. You now have a choice. You can try to rescue MK. You can go to Engineering to find Luon. Or you can find a runabout and runaway.

Option three it is. There's nothing you can do. You did your part of the plan already with the shooting. So you crawl back to where the runabouts are docked and you get into the first one you see, named _Alphyne_. When you power it up, the writing is all in Romulan, so it must be one the Admiral took from a defeated enemy. Good thing you can read Romulan.

The ship shudders on the deck as its engines come to life and the bay doors open with the tap of a command. You've never flown before. But you know the general theory and principles, so you only bump into the walls a few times before the runabout slips free of the _Liltha_ and you're away. Nobody will ever know. You'll sneak onto another ship, one that explores planets instead of getting into dangerous battles all the time. Ah, this truly is the enchanted life of a hitchhiker, a free spirit, a lone wolf, leaving and never looking back.

"Wh-what are you d-doing?"

You might have fucked up.

* * *

MK writhes against the ropes binding his legs and torso, his tail beating futilely on the floor. Tears slip from his wide eyes as Undyne grins down, swinging the crystal necklace containing his glamour on one claw-manicured finger. "Who was _that_ , squirt??"

MK stops struggling and glares at her, refusing to speak. Undyne pinches the crystal in two fingers and taunts him with it. "You want this, right?? Who was that fucker on the earpiece. Who's working with you??"

"Y-yo, don't!" He pleads. "Give it back!"

Undyne groans. "Punk, I don't want to do this. But you are _really_ pissing me off."

"Why are you doing this?? Y-you- yo, you used to be my hero, y'know?"

Undyne's grin tightens into a sharp toothy grimace as she stares down the doctor. "I was _the_ _Underground's_ hero, squirt."

"Th-then why??"

A dark flash crosses Undyne's eyes. But it passes as quickly as it came, and she widens her grin, crinkling her golden eyes. "Fuhuhu, for a family reunion, of course! Can't be a proper reunion without a few deaths and everyone hating each other, right?? _But_. You haven't answered my questions." She growls the last sentence and crushes the necklace in one hand, then drops the dusty shards to the floor as they spark and fizzle.

MK watches with despair in his soul. Undyne isn't the same person he used to look up to and admire.

* * *

In a far away galaxy, the tentacled aliens make pleased signs to one another and perform the rites of joy and success to appease their patrons.

The star system several light years away doesn't matter, as the cease-fire has had no effect on the unfolding events.

And a few kilometers away, a few asteroids disappear into a growing tornado.

In the _Liltha'_ s Engineering Bay, none of this matters, as Sans and the last surviving engineer trade technical jargon as they attempt to gain access to the helm. Luon and Papyrus stand guard.

Throughout the ship, small pockets of survivors find each other in the mess hall and decide to attempt a last ditch stand.

Undyne strides through the bridge, the unconscious body of MK slung over her shoulders. She steps over dead bodies and growls when she can't find any survivors. She fails to see the space tornado increasing in size through the viewport.

In the runabout called _Alphyne_ , Alphys and Ryuk scream and huddle together as the small ship is swallowed.

The wormhole expands in leaps, sucking up the dead ships around itself. Undyne's flagship is the second-to-last to be eaten. And then the _Liltha_ shudders and slides into the wormhole's maw.

The wormhole eats a few more asteroids, burps out a nebula, and then collapses in on itself, leaving a bright purple gaseous cloud behind and no sign of the battle.

On a completely unrelated ship, a completely insignificant ship in the Alliance, one of the ships sucked up by the wormhole, there is a brig, and in this brig is a furious collared Human with a yellow crystal bracelet. She narrows her one eye at the door and screams as she punches it for the millionth time. She is completely irrelevant. Forgettable, even.


	3. I Get Confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Chapter Revision Complete

It's dark in space.

You uncurl from where you were huddled with Alphys in the corner. The runabout drifts, spinning slowly in two different directions. Nausea rises in your throat but you swallow it down and go to the controls.

Alphys comes up behind you and assists you in steadying the ship. The stars through the viewport are cold and impersonal, almost ominous. You're not sure what happened. One minute you were fleeing from the scene of the battle, the next you were hurtling to your death through what looked like a drug-induced tunnel. And you've been clean for a whole two months now. But now everything seems normal. Except you're not in an asteroid field anymore. And the stars are in different places.

And oh _shit_ , Alphys is saying something about a different galaxy.

You don't really have a chance to process it. You're out cold on the floor, eyes wide open but mind as blank as a clean slate.

You're vaguely aware of being shaken. But your limbs are limp and liquid, glowing with the strength of your denial of reality.

Except reality refuses to be denied. And it remains. Alphys's words sink in. "My parents. Are going to kill me. _Again_." You mutter, almost giggling.

"Th-that's really not the pr-problem here." Alphys says. "We- we're in the Andromeda galaxy. And I- I don't know how to get back? Or how we got here in the first place?"

"Sorry, I'm sorry, I'll keep it together." You push yourself off the floor and then sway dizzily. Alphys makes you sit down.

"I- I want to faint too." She says.

"We can both faint together. Have a swooning party. Oh _shit_ , oh stars, we're in a different fucking _galaxy_ , millions of lightyears away from any source of fuel or food _or air_." Your heart pounds in your throat, a vise tightening on your mind and chest. Alphys grabs your hand and starts to tap a pattern on your skin. Skin. You _hate_ skin. It's so smooth and slimy, you want scales, you want to release the other natures in your soul, your _Aggelos_ soul. Why the fuck did your dads have to knock up a Human female. Why the fuck are you broken. _Why in all the starsdamned fucking stars are you in another galaxy._

Alphys suddenly pushes you out of the way and grabs control of the helm. You watch in disconnected blurry interest as she navigates through the growing field of asteroids and ships popping up from nowhere. "W-we can make it. We h-have resources! We- we'll just f-find a planet! And aliens!"

"Aliens?" You repeat dumbly. "Rad."

She guides the runabout to the nearest ship, which happens to be one of the Alliance ships. A tractor beam captures the runabout and drags it into its bay.

You're still dumbstruck and in denial. Nothing could have ever prepared you for this. "Hey. Alphys."

"Yes?"

"Let me do the talking."

* * *

Down in the brig of the Queen's ship, Mettaton has completed his plan of escape. He hollers at the top of his robotic audio processors. "O-O-OH, MY- MY HEART!!"

The Human in the other cell looks up and snaps, "Shut up, idiot toaster." Their platinum blond hair flops over their pert copper nose, green crystals hanging from their ears. "It's not gonna work."

"S-SAYS WHO-O??" The robot glitches his voice, despite not having to anymore. He does it just to be annoying.

"Says your monarch!"

"Golly, can you two stop arguing for once??" Asgore cuts in. "I said nothing of the sort!"

"I meant me." The Human says sullenly.

Mettaton flashes a knowing grin. "BUT- BUT WHAT IS THIS? YOU HAVE NO POWER? I WONDER WHY. PERHAPS THOSE CR-CR-CRYSTALS ARE BLOCKING IT."

The Human covers their earrings with a frightened glance at Toriel. "N-no, I think it's your _idiocy_." They hiss.

Mettaton smirks, and then walks out of his cell. "What was that, darling?"

"How-??"

"Magic~, darling." Mettaton goes to the console and taps a few buttons. The door opens for the Human and the two boss monsters. "Now~, where were we. OH! I know! Why don't you tell the monarchs your name, darling?"

The Human stomps out of the cell and slams Mettaton against the wall. "Listen here, you oversized microwave, I'm not going down without a fight, so if you think you can just-"

" _Ahem_." Toriel speaks. The Human flinches guiltily and lets Mettaton go. "I think we would all like to know your name."

"U-uh." The Human desperately tries to think of one. Mettaton grins sadistically and crosses his arms, waiting. "I would tell you, but- hahahaa, you're all too idiotic to guess!" Whoo, crisis averted! Except Toriel and Asgore are now glaring with disapproval.

"Their name is _Bracken_ , of course." Mettaton purrs.

The Human has no clue why Mettaton is helping them, but they grab the lifeline quickly. "Y-yeah! Bracken!" They shoot a confused glare at Mettaton, who smirks in reply.

The robot leads the former prisoners out of the brig. There's nobody around, weirdly enough. "Now, darlings, the time for the grand finale has come." Mettaton says as he opens a door into a bay filled with runabouts."Hop in, we're busting out."

Toriel growls at Asgore when he attempts to help her up the steps. Somehow, though, the two monarchs manage to get on without killing the other. Mettaton stops Bracken before the Human can get on. "You have some explaining to do, little prince." He purrs.

Bracken glowers at Mettaton. "None of your business, _idiot_."

Mettaton considers the Human for a moment, making Bracken feel uncomfortable. "I will find the truth sooner or later, darling."

"Don't hold your breath. Later is going to be a long time coming." Bracken hisses, then shoves Mettaton out of the way and hops into the runabout.

Mettaton straightens and makes a pleased whirring sound as he enters after the spoiled brat.

* * *

"hey, bro," Sans blinks off of the warp core and high-fives his assistant, the green-furred Kzinti/Klingon named N'Kha. "got it."

Papyrus nods, "Very good, Sans. Luon-"

The intercom blares, interrupting Papyrus. * _HEY! Boneheads!! If you want your little doctor to keep their three remaining limbs, you will come to the bridge IMMEDIATELY.*_

Luon shouts, "MK!" and leaps in the direction of the door. Papyrus stops him with a hand on his shoulder.

"I will get him back safely."

"uh. that sounded like undyne, bro." Sans interjects. "ya sure you can beat her?"

"Nyeh, I may not have to. But if it does come to blows, I've been training." Papyrus pats Sans's skull. "However, it might be helpful if I had backup." Sans groans at that. "She wants both of us, Sans. She'll get both."

"okay, boss." Sans takes Papyrus's hand, a sinking feeling in his ribs.

"Luon, N'Kha, don't do anything until you hear from us. Hide if you have to." Papyrus commands and the two salute.

Sans blinks himself and his brother to the jefferies tube above the bridge. Then he hops down through the access port and ducks behind a console. Papyrus leaps down after him, but doesn't hide.

"Let my doctor go." Papyrus says to the conqueror, almost gently for him. "And tell me what you're doing on my ship."

Undyne groans loudly, probably rolling her eye, but Sans can't see her and doesn't particularly want to after she broke his arm the last time they were in the same room. " _Fuhuhu_ ," The laugh is forced and unnatural. "You thought it would be THAT easy?? Nope, you two are coming with me and you're not gonna make a fuss."

"I DON'T THINK SO." Papyrus states in his old normal volume, making Sans wince. "YOU SEE, I DON'T THINK THE UNDYNE I KNEW WOULD BE DOING THIS." Sans still has no idea what Undyne is doing here, and he doesn't particularly want to know. Papyrus probably doesn't know either.

"JUST FUCKING COME WITH ME ALREADY!!" Undyne shrieks. " _GOD_ , YOU MORONS, IT'S LIKE HERDING CATS!!"

Sans peeks up. Undyne glares at him, both her golden eyes narrowed- wait, Undyne should only have one eye. Sans checks her. "uh. bro."

* * *

Papyrus glares down the thing that looks like Undyne. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE." He growls. He noticed as soon as he saw it that something was off.

The imposter smirks with Undyne's teeth and flops onto the Captain chair in the center of the bridge. "Me?? Just fought my way into ruling a nation-state in the Alliance. Only defeated your little fleet of ten with just thirty ships, EIGHT of which are still up and running. Only FINALLY got you FUCKING MONSTERS together aga-!!" It stops itself short, looking distinctly guilty.

"WHERE IS MK." Papyrus is ready to draw his phaser to fire at any moment.

It waves Undyne's hand carelessly. The red crystal bracelet glows with their fear. "They're fine. I was bluffing. Mostly."

His phaser is in his hand with a mere thought, and he fires. They shriek, cowering. But he hits what he was aiming for. When the sparksof the destroyed bracelet die, a very familiar Human stares back, their eyes pretending to blaze confidence. "Fuhuhu!" They laugh. They haven't noticed yet. "You- uh. _Shit_." They turn and run. Papyrus stabs them with a cyan attack and they fall to the floor heavily.

"HELLO, FRISK." Papyrus says, fury blazing in his soul.

"H-hi," They squeak. "I can explain!"

"OH, SO YOU CAN _EXPLAIN_ WHY YOU KILLED MY CREW, DESTROYED MY SHIPS, AND POSED AS MY _FRIEND_ , BETRAYING ME AND SANS?? WONDERFUL. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT." Papyrus grabs the Human by the nape of their neck and drags them out of the bridge. "WHERE IS MK."

"I- in sickbay." They answer meekly.

"AND THE ACTUAL UNDYNE?"

"H-heh. Funny story, you two were the last on my list. We're all together again!" Frisk says happily, clapping her lion-gold hands together.

Papyrus stops short. "You. _Captured Everyone_??" He says in a tone that any of his crew would have recognized as dangerous.

"Yes!"

"uh! bro!" Sans says frantically behind him. "might wanna see this."

Papyrus turns back and glares into the viewport where Sans is pointing. "WHAT??"

"the asteroids are in different places, bro, we moved."

"SO?? I SUPPOSE LUON AND N'KHA STARTED THE ENGINES UP DESPITE MY INSTRUCTIONS." Papyrus waves the oddity off. Sans tries to continue but Papyrus goes to the intercom, still dragging Frisk along. "All survivors, the fight is over, I have captured the leader of the enemy. MK is in the sickbay, someone please tend to them." He says, sending the message throughout the ship, then starts to open a channel to the Alliance flagship.

But a call comes in from the very same ship before he can. * _Queen, we have a problem._ *

Papyrus glares at Frisk. They shrug innocently.

 _"_ Your Queen is preoccupied with being captured. What is the problem??" 

* _Er. I suppose since you're holding her hostage, I have no choice. The prisoners escaped and stole a runabout. Also we captured the Alphyne and took Alphys and her companion prisoner, we put them in with the troublesome human.*_ Whoever is talking sounds a bit too pleased about having to tell Papyrus everything.

Frisk screeches, "YOU IDIOTS!!" and continues to curse out their crew. Papyrus cuffs them and they hiss but fall silent.

"We call for a cease-fire. I want my crew returned, I want the injured given medical attention, and I want first dibs on the rez packs." Papyrus says. "You may use the remaining rez packs when we are done. You are now all my crew, as I have defeated your ruler, so you will answer to me. Send teams to work on repairs at once, as well."

* _Y-yes, sir!_ *

"What is your name and title?" Papyrus asks.

* _Ca-captain Dell!_ * The captain sounds to be sniffling.

"Don't cry, captain."

* _Yes, sir!! I'm just- so happy! Thank you!_ *

"Why are you speaking so quiet." Frisk grumbles after Papyrus ends the transmission. Papyrus cuffs them again.

"I am hardly being _quiet_. If you're wondering why I'm not blasting my voice at full volume, it's because I learned to control it." He tells them. "I have matured, Frisk, although it seems you have not."

"I have." They mumble. "I figured out I'm a girl."

Papyrus glares at her. "Do I look like I care?"

Frisk smirks. "If you don't, I could always go back and change a few things so you do~."

"GO AHEAD, I DARE YOU." Papyrus snarls.

She focuses really hard on the ground. Nothing happens. She looks back at Papyrus with a small and frightened look. "I- I can't."

"bro. can ya pay attention to me now??" Sans says, sounding frustrated.

"What, Sans??"

"i know why she can't load. bet she can't reset either."

"Why??" Frisk demands, then flinches before Papyrus can cuff her again.

"we're in another fucking galaxy."

" ** _WHAT_**??"

* * *

"NGAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Your fellow prisoner barrels towards the door and punches with all her impressive strength, but is once more thrown back by the static field. " _Damn_ it!!" She shrieks. A scrunchy draws back her fiery red hair into a ponytail which falls almost to the collar around her neck. Alphys sulks in the corner, glancing at the woman with burning ardor in her eyes, yet says nothing. She is also collared.

"Listen," You say and run your hands through your own hair to get another hairpin. At this rate, you'll be clean out of hairpins soon.

"NO!!" The Human shouts. "I won't fucking listen to _anything_ you have to say! We're trapped here!! That fucking _bitch_ trapped me!!"

You sigh and hold onto the hairpin in your hand. "Would having your magic help?"

She stomps up to you and balls her fist in the fabric of your uniform, threatening to slam you into the wall. "Who the fuck are _you_?? Why are you trolling me??"

"Not trolling." You poke her with the hairpin. "I can get that off for you."

She lets you go immediately with a light in her eyes. "Really? FUHUHU, why didn't you SAY so??"

It's pointless to point out why you didn't say so immediately, because she wasn't listening then and she won't listen now. So you pick the lock on her collar. "What's your name?" You ask before the collar comes undone.

"Undyne." She snaps.

"False." Alphys snaps back. "Undyne is the Queen! You're just an imposter."

"Fuck you, Alphys, you wouldn't know the real me if I _ate_ you!"

"D-do it!"

"Gah!!" You shriek in horror as Undyne leaps at Alphys. "Ladies, no!!"

Undyne looks back and glares at you. "Stay out of this!!"

"Y-yeah, we don't need you!"

You groan and turn around. "Undies, you still have the collar on."

"Fuck you!"

"No, fuck me!" Alphys squeals and you groan louder to cover up the sound of tearing fabric.

"I AM _STUCK_ IN HERE WITH TWO _HORNY_ - _ASS_ IDIOTS!!!" You shriek. "This has _got_ to be some form of harassment."

"Don't like it, then LEAVE!!"

"DAMN YOU, I WILL!!" You shout back and then run for the door, hoping to black out so that you don't have to hear, or smell, any of the goings-on. Slam into the door- but it crumbles under you so that you stumble out of the cell. "Wha??" There wasn't even any static field to stop you.

Welp, it's open now. They can leave whenever they're- uh. done. Maybe you should lock them in again. Nah, you'll be merciful. You'll even leave the hairpin. _Urgh_ , you're going to throw up.

* * *

In a runabout wandering through the asteroids and ships, Toriel and Asgore sit across from each other without speaking. Asgore curses the silence in his mind, but doesn't break it. It's been almost twenty years since the barrier broke, and Toriel hasn't warmed up to him at all, holding onto her grudge. True, he does deserve her wrath, as he killed her children and sent his kingdom plummeting deeper into revenge-driven hate, destroying what had once been their vision as newly crowned monarchs for changing the kill-or-be-killed culture with a peaceful and loving reign. 

In the front of the runabout, Mettaton and the Human named Bracken are arguing again. Asgore isn't sure why Undyne captured a random human. He isn't sure why Undyne captured _any_ of them, but the Human seems to be the odd one out. Except that something feels very familiar about the Human and their rotten attitude.

The two debaters fall silent as though struck. Asgore looks up in concern. "What's going on?"

"The nav system can't read our location." Mettaton says sharply, working at the console.

"Damn, Frisk..." Bracken mutters. How do they know Frisk?? "You idiot."

Mettaton looks back at the two monarchs. "Don't panic, but. We seem to be in a different galaxy."

"What." Toriel stands up, her eyes blazing with fury. "Do not jest with me."

"It's true, m- Toriel. We're in the Andromeda Galaxy, approximately two-point-five million light years away from the Milky Way." Bracken says, reading the figure off the info section of their console.

"You're saying we're all alone in another galaxy?" Asgore says, struggling to keep his composure.

"Not- all alone. There seems to be a fleet outside, along with an asteroid belt. Some of them have the Federation insignia, and some are Alliance, so we think there must have been a battle."

"And then?? How were we all brought to _another galaxy_??" Toriel demands.

Mettaton and Bracken share a look. "We don't know." Bracken says.

"But we'll find out, darlings. I'm setting a course for one of the Federation ships, where we should be safe."

"Actually." Bracken says. "I think I need to clear something up for everyone here. First, Undyne didn't capture you guys, Frisk did, using a glamour to look like Undyne."

"What?? My child would never do that!" Toriel tries to light fire with her paws, but nothing happens. She settles for stalking towards Bracken and looming over them. Asgore stands up to intervene if she goes overboard.

"And, tell me, Toriel, how long ago did you last _see_ Frisk??" Bracken continues, glaring up at her, unafraid.

"H-how do you even know them??" She rages.

"Frisk is a girl." Bracken smirks. "She/her."

Mettaton chuckles, covering his mouth with a hand. "What drama~." 

Toriel breathes unsteadily, her eyes darting about as though in search of something to destroy, and Asgore can tell she's about to explode.

"Tori-" He says and she lashes out at him, her claws unsheathed and slashing across his muzzle.

"Don't!! Don't call me that!!" She howls, the entirety of her wrath focused like a laser on him now. Asgore sighs.

"Toriel."

"What??"

"I think Frisk's gender isn't really the issue here. You haven't seen them in fourteen years. That's a long time for a mother. It's entirely possible they- sorry, _she_ changed drastically. And we're really far away from home right now. So let's find a way out of this, and then we can worry about it."

Toriel seems to be calming down at his words, but then Bracken pipes up, "Or maybe you never knew her as well as you thought you did."

Asgore grabs her to hold her back as she shrieks and tries to attack Bracken. The instigator just gives a smug smile and holds out a hand for a high-five from Mettaton, who gives Bracken a withering look, but the brat is unfazed and only high-fives themself.

"Let me _go_ , you _Devil_!" Toriel snaps, struggling against Asgore. Asgore hides his pain at the slur.

"I can't, Tori-el. I won't let you do something you'll regret." Asgore knows she can whip those words back in his face, but he doesn't care.

"Second," Bracken says, gloating. "I'm your son."

Mettaton lets out a thrilled moan. "Ohhh~ I knew it, I _knew_ there was something up! Take off the earrings, darling, let us see you!"

Bracken shakes his head, said ornaments dangling and glowing green. It's a glamour, Asgore realizes, angry that he didn't recognize it sooner, but so few Fae ever use them. "You _aren't_ Asriel." The king says, disbelieving. "You can't be. He's dead."

"Wowie, you guys really don't know anything about your kids, do you." Bracken taunts. Toriel rips herself out of Asgore's slackening grasp and draws back her paw, then slaps Bracken with a resounding crack.

"How dare you spit on my children's memory!!" She cries. "Alphys told me about you, _Flowey_!! But you're only a mockery of Asriel!!" Asgore has no idea who Flowey is.

"Listen, idiot, I'm better than Asriel _ever_ could be! Asriel had fantasies about becoming like me! _I'm_ the culmination of your shitty child's hopes and dreams!!" Bracken grins as though daring Toriel to slap him again.

"Um." Asgore says, staring out the viewport, where a ship has approached and now has a tractor beam locked onto their runabout.

Mettaton turns as well and chuckles to himself. "It's alright, darling, this is a Federation ship."

Asgore stares at the huge ship as it swallows their runabout and he tries to ignore the sounds of yelping behind him as Toriel thrashes the brat soundly.

* * *

MK is all alone in the sickbay, left tied up where he can see the dead bodies of his nurses and patients still lying where they were killed. He sobs into the gag, not bothering to try any longer to struggle against the ropes Undyne left him in.

Papyrus's voice echoes through the intercom and he finds a spark of hope in his soul. Somebody will find him. But- they'll see him in this body. This useless body that can't do anything. Glamours are unique and tailored to the individual person using them, and there's nobody who can make them in this quadrant of the Milky Way. It's been so long since Papyrus's fleet has been home. 

"Oh, there you are, doctor." Luon says upon entering the sickbay. "I was worried for you."

MK struggles to not cry, choosing to glare into the ceiling instead. Luon comes up and cuts the ropes off of him. "Are you alright?"

"U-Undyne. Destroyed it. She destroyed my glamour." MK says, his voice dead and toneless.

"How cruel of her." Luon tuts, wiping his sunglasses on his shirt and staring past MK's eyes with silver eyes. "I have some rez packs here, I will allow you to get your sickbay in order. I believe there are people who'll need your services very soon."

"Yo, can you not _see_??" MK hisses angrily. "I _can't_. I don't have any _arms_."

Luon tuts. "Oh. That is a bit of an inconvenience."

"You _think_??"

"I'll help you." The Ferengi says. "Just tell me what to do. You can owe me another favor later."

MK is still pissed, but he nods shortly and struggles to use his tail to push himself off the stretcher and onto his feet. "Yeah, alright. Let's do this."

* * *

Scattered throughout the stolen asteroid belt, the combined force of forty ships slowly repairs itself and struggles back to life. News travels fast and pretty soon, everyone knows the predicament they're all in. Most of the dead crews are resurrected, unless they were sucked into space or their bodies too mangled, in which case they are lost. The dead ships are scrapped for materials. The final count of space-worthy ships is twenty-four, but as there's only enough people to man eighteen ships, six more are scrapped.

Admiral Papyrus Eleos has the navigators search for a planet with resources where they can refuel and recover before searching for a way home, as the wormhole that brought them here can't be depended on to bring them back. He tells the captains to take census of all the people on their ships and report it back to him. Sans works more than he's ever had to; as the Ambassador he's expected to keep the peace between the two factions.

The fleet of eighteen ships and over ten thousand people limps out of the asteroid field and into the unknown. Home may be a thing of the past, something they will never return to. But all of them are determined to return anyway.


	4. last thoughts of a life by candlelight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Chapter Revision Complete*

Comforting green stretches across the viewport. The navigators managed to find a suitable M-class planet after much bitching from Papyrus. He's been pretty easy to piss off lately, but that's understandable since his former friend Frisk betrayed him. Sans doesn't blame him. Sans is pretty pissed off with the kiddo too. But getting stuck in a different galaxy with his little brother hasn't been the _worst_ experience of his life, over all. Not yet, anyway.

Sans flips through the census reports on his desk to look like he's doing work when Papyrus glances his way. Nothing interesting in the reports, it's just captains and commodores listing all their crews. Papyrus has already gone through it, so Sans doesn't see why he has to do it too. He'd much rather be roping that stowaway kid-- what was their name again?-- into pranking the Engineering Bay with him. But no~ dearest darlingest brother wants him to _arbitrate_ between the two factions. Sans doesn't hide the exasperated sigh that rises from his soul.

"What, Sans??" Papyrus snaps.

"just thinkin', bro. there's really no need for me to go through this after my clever bro already examined it." Sans winks.

"Just read it." Papyrus huffs, but Sans reads a hint of a pleased twinkle in his eyes.

"can't ya just, i dunno, tell me what's so important?"

"I suggest you read the reports from the _Thor_ and the _Alaco_ in particular." Papyrus replies. "Now be silent, we're coming into orbit."

"'ts not like the planet is gonna run away." Sans mutters, then winces at his bro's sharp look. "fine."

He skims through the _Thor's_ reports. _Alphys_. The name lashes out from the page. Sans looks up at Papyrus, who's focused on ordering his bridge crew around in preparation for testing the planet. So he keeps reading. There are no more recognizable names in the _Thor's_ roster, so he moves on to the _Alaco_.

 _Asgore_. Sans stops short at the name, struck. He hasn't seen the big guy in years. He stands up, not entirely sure what he's doing until his magic coils around him and the world blinks.

He boards a runabout in the cargo bay and flies it out smoothly, an odd pulse of steel in his soul. _Asgore_. Sans can almost feel the king's furry arms and rumbling laugh, almost smell the flowery tea on his breath.

A firefly-class cruiser, the _Alaco_ , comes alongside his runabout, its bay doors invitingly open. Sans lands the runabout in the _Alaco'_ s bay and then shuffles out. A Kzinti greets him with a bow. "Admiral Eleos told us you'd want to come." Sans allows himself a smirk of pride in his bro's intuition. Of course Papyrus would realize where he was going immediately.

"take me to-" Sans stops short, unwilling to seem like a schoolboy in the throes of his first crush.

The Kzinti grins. "He also directed me to lead you to Asgore, Ambassador. And, I quote, _leave the lovebirds alone or you will be skewered and roasted."_

Sans shakes his head, sighing fondly. His brother has an incorrigible love of threatening people into doing what he wants, but somehow his subordinates find it to be endearing instead of frightening. Perhaps because they know Papyrus would never kill anyone. _Beat them to unconsciousness, maybe, but never kill._

And then the actual words used by his brother hit him. "i'm gonna skewer _him_." Sans growls. "we're not _lovebirds_."

"Understood." The Kzinti says with a gleam in their eyes. "Would you like to see him?"

"yeah, alright." Sans says, pretending to relent. He doesn't know which room Asgore is in, or he would just shortcut there.

"They still have magisuppressors on from their imprisonment." The Kzinti admits after a few minutes of walking through the halls. "We didn't want them killing each other."

"who all did you pick up?"

"Toriel, Asgore, Mettaton, and Bracken." They say. "They are quite anxious to see somebody named Frisk."

"that's not gonna end well." Sans mutters to himself. He's not sure who Bracken is, but it's entirely possible he forgot somebody.

The Kzinti stops before a door and waves him in. "Have fun."

"thanks." Sans enters and the door swishes closed behind him.

"Sans!!" The first to thrust herself forward is Toriel.

"Ah, you came." Asgore toasts him with a cup of tea from a wide couch.

"How. Lovely~." Mettaton purrs, draped seductively over a piano.

"Oh, great, it's the smiley trashbag."

What. The. Fuck. Is _Flowey_ doing here.

* * *

Bracken nee Asriel stares down Sans, hiding the fear clenching in his gut. Glamours can be useful, but the emotional capability of his six soul shards is getting rather annoying, along with the sensory input. His ass still smarts from Toriel thrashing him in the runabout. If he were still a flower, none of this would have happened. "So glad to see you here, Sans." Bracken hisses. Toriel gives him a warning glare. "What?? I said I was glad."

"Don't listen to him." Asgore sighs. "We're all very happy to see you."

"You don't speak for all of us." Bracken mutters, then shrieks as Toriel grabs his arm and drags him to the back room. "Hey!!"

"Come along, Mettaton, give those two some space." Toriel commands and Bracken hides his relief.

"Kinky~." Mettaton hums and follows. Bracken flips him off.

Fucking Frisk messed everything up. Her stupid plan for a family reunion got everyone in this mess. And now Bracken is stuck with his least favorite people in the universe.

* * *

"Would you care for some tea?" Asgore asks gently. Sans seems to be slightly frozen. "Sans?"

Sans shudders and then focuses his pinprick white pupils and a saucy grin on the former king. "uh. yeah. tea would be great."

Asgore finds himself lost for words. He pours tea and hands the cup to his old friend. "It's. been a while, hasn't it."

"yup. good to see you're still the same fuzzball as always."

Asgore relaxes at the insulting moniker. It used to make him furious whenever someone called him that, a constant reminder that he was never good enough for Toriel. "Yes, well, I can't say the same for you, Sans," He jests lightly, "You seem to have put on a few pounds."

"ya like it?" Sans's saucy grin becomes positively sinister.

"It makes you look cuddly." Asgore decides, remembering the Sans that would have killed anyone who dared to insult him thus.

Sans leans in. " _cuddly_ , huh. i'll be cuddly anytime ya want, fuzzball."

Asgore is frozen for a split second before making up his mind. They're both too old and calloused to flounder around in uncertainties or dance with confusion. He runs his paw behind Sans's skull and pulls him in, pressing his muzzle to Sans's jaws. He can feel Sans's soul pounding in his ribcage, mirroring the beat of Asgore's. Sans draws away first and Asgore waits for him to say something.

"heh. well, then. i'll. uh. go clear up my quarters for company. unless you'd rather stay here, fuzzball." Sans winks.

Asgore nods gravely. "That would be lovely, Sans."

Sans disappears in a flash of black, leaving the scent of sriracha behind.

* * *

Undyne and Alphys lay tangled up in each other's arms, Undyne too exhausted to be furious or happy or anything but numbly accepting of this turn of events. She finally managed to get Alphys to scream her name, convincing the scientist of her identity. But the mere fact that Alphys was convinced that she wasn't Undyne was a cause for concern. True, she was forced to wear a glamour, but it should be obvious to True Love!! Undyne glares at the yellow crystal bracelet on her wrist. Frisk told her she'd explode if she took it off.

Undyne sits up with a gasp, realizing that someone must have taken her place. But who??

"Al." She shoves the scientist off of her. "AL!!"

"Wh-wha- n-no, Mettaton, d-don't fire off the death laser without me." Alphys murmurs and cuddles into Undyne once more.

Undyne sighs and gives up.

What, really?

Ha, no, not really, that was a joke. Undyne would never give up! So she elbows Alphys really hard in the abdomen. "WAKE UP, YOU SHITTY EXCUSE FOR A GIRLFRIEND!!!"

"I- I'm up!!" Alphys leaps to her feet and then stumbles, but Undyne catches her and pulls her into a deep smooch. "Mm-mf, hm." Alphys is either humming in appreciation or attempting to speak. Undyne withdraws to give her girlfriend air. "Wha-what's going on, Undyne?" Alphys asks, an aura of innocence in her eyes.

"Somebody has taken my place, disguised as me. I think someone must be mind-controlling Frisk!!" Undyne explains, and then tells Alphys about the glamour. Alphys stares at her.

"Y-you do realize if you told me this sooner-"

"FUHUHU, I wouldn't have gotten to eat you out!!" Undyne cackles.

Alphys blushes and mumbles. "I- never had s-sex with the fake Undyne. B-but we kissed."

Undyne's expression darkens. "Babe. I don't blame you. I would have done the same."

Alphys looks up in confusion, "Y-you would have made out with a f-fake version of yourself?"

"Fuhuhu, maybe!!" Undyne grins, then quickly sobers again. "How're we gonna get outta here, babe? I'm gonna whip that imposter's ass into another _galaxy_!!"

Alphys flinches. "Ahh- ahh- about that." She explains.

"WHAT!!!" Undyne shrieks upon hearing that they are trapped far from home. "Get me outta here, babe, I'm gonna whip that bastard into the Milky Way and then BACK, NGAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" She screams and punches the cell door.

It swings open. And then Undyne realizes that there used to be a third person in the cell. "FUUUUUUUCK!!! THAT BASTARD!! NEVER EVEN BOTHERED TO TELL US WE COULD LEAVE!!"

"T-to be f-fair, we were-"

"NGAAAAAHHH!!" Undyne roars, completely ignoring Alphys's good sense. She grabs Alphys by hand and drags her out, slamming the door closed behind her. "First. I'm finding that bastard and hurling them into space. THEN! I find that imposter and fling THEM into space!! And then!!" Undyne prepares to shout exactly how hard she's going to fuck Alphys as the last point, but is abruptly cut off by the intercom system.

* _Would Alphys and the real Undyne please report to the Cargo Bay for transfer to the Liltha.*_

Undyne would know that pompous harsh voice anywhere. A part of her is relieved that her best rival is in the same hot mess as her. Another part is furious that he got himself caught up in this shit-show too.

* _Oh. And Undyne. It was Frisk._ * Papyrus tells her. Undyne's anger pops like a balloon, dousing her with confusion.

Alphys nods. "Sh-she did k-kiss like Frisk."

"That. BITCH!!" Undyne shrieks, trying to force righteous fury back into her soul. "Why-" Why the hell would Frisk do this?? Undyne's earfins droop, her mind racing in scattered circles. It isn't until she's pushed onto a firm seat that she realizes Alphys took initiative to lead her into a runabout. "Thanks, bae." She mutters.

Alphys nods and takes the helm. "I- I know which ship to go to. You j-just relax. O-oh, and Undyne?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I-it won't explode." Alphys gives a slight smirk. "I- I made it. F-for roleplay. I only t-told Frisk."

Undyne nods along in a daze. Then snaps up, suddenly realizing something. "You- You knew all along!!" She exclaims, too tired to shout.

Alphys glances over her shoulder and smiles innocently, with a bit of a crazy gleam peeking from her eyes. "A-and if I d-did? What will you do about it?"

"Fuck you." Undyne growls.

"Later, honeycake." Alphys purrs, driving the runabout out of the ship and into space. Undyne is too exhausted to argue, settling for closing her eyes. How long has she been awake, trying to break out of the brig? She tries to count the cycles, but she's asleep before she reaches three.

* * *

MK sits on his chair, spinning, bored. His nurses won't let him do anything. Not that he _can_. Without his glamour- MK cuts off the depressed thought before it can finish. He learned to cope, so long ago, after the king cut off his arms as punishment to his parents for rebelling. But it's been so long since he used his magic, and use of such is generally frowned upon.

Nobody is around right now, though. MK focuses on a pen on the desk. It shivers, a dark blue aura curling around it.

Then it rises in the air. MK lets out a whoop. He's still got it. He grasps a piece of paper in another curl of blue and tries to write. It takes some work to press the pen accurately against the paper. It takes a few hours to actually write anything. It will take even more practice to write anything legible with the same amount of control as he had over his glamour. But MK won't give up. He can't. He's never- never been able to.

It takes a moment for him to realize that the wet spots on the paper are tears. His shoulders shake with sobs, and the harder he tries to stop this weak foolish weeping, the harder he cries.

A knock on the door jolts shame through him. He grabs a tissue with magic and hastily pats it across his muzzle before throwing it into the trash. He misses, but that hardly matters at the moment. "Come in." He says, his attempt at a cold intimidating voice coming out shaky and small.

Luon enters with a platter of food. "I thought I might bring you some food, since I didn't find you in the mess hall." He says.

MK scowls. "I don't want food."

"You have to eat, Doctor." Luon insists, placing the food in front of him.

"Aren't you going to help me??" MK snaps before the Ferengi can turn to leave.

Luon doesn't spare even a moment of consideration. "No." He says simply. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

The door slams shut in front of Luon. MK flinches immediately after the sudden outburst. He doesn't have as much control over his magic as he used to. "I-"

Without turning, Luon says, "I think you can help yourself quite well enough, Doctor."

"Please- don't leave me." MK says, hating how weak his voice is. "I'll owe you another favor, I'll do whatever you want, just- I don't want to be alone right now."

Luon turns around and adjusts his monocle, gazing past MK. "Doctor Mil-Gwedh." The name is harsh and heavily accented on the Ferengi's tongue. "I'll stay with you, but I can't help you eat. You'll have to do that yourself."

MK almost asks _why not_ , but then actually looks at Luon, actually _sees_ the enigmatic person in front of him. Luon has never looked directly at him for- for basically all the time that MK has known him. Which hasn't been long, as Luon has never come in for a physical, and only transferred to this ship a few weeks ago.

"You're blind." MK notes.

"Mostly." Luon corrects. "My hearing and electroreception also help me cope, much like your magic."

"How'd you know about that?"

"I can smell it on you, like magnolias and sulphur."

MK considers this. Then uses his magic to pull a chair over and pats the seat. "Sit, Commander."

* * *

You sit in the helm of the _Thor_ , guiding her into orbit as your teacher hovers over your shoulder. Somehow you managed to convince the Captain of the _Thor_ that you were a rookie ensign, and she immediately put you under the tutelage of her helms chief. You flashback to the time, feels so long ago, when you convinced the third shift to crash-land on a planet, and suppress a smirk.

You hear a familiar voice behind you speaking to the captain, but can't place it. Your tutor admonishes you when you try to turn and look. But then the voice travels around to in front of you and then the Klingon and Cardassian from the brig are glaring at you, looking bruised and battered. "Kill it." The Cardassian, M'rer, says. The Klingon steps forward, cold death in her eyes.

"U-uh- you must be mistaken, friends, I'm-"

"No killing the ensign, please." Captain Dell interjects.

"Did this _ensign_ happen to tell you their _name?_ " The Klingon hisses.

"Of course, they are Ensign Dur'kal."

"Ensign Dur'kal was _killed_!" M'rer snaps. "This! _This_ _bastard_ told us they were _T'seq_!"

"Wow." You clap and the helms officer shoves you out of the seat, taking over. "I think that's the most words you've spoken since- well, birth, maybe." And then you have to raise your hands in surrender as the click of a phaser sounds behind your back. Shit. "Buuut- I can explain."

"Don't let it talk. It may look human, but it lies as well as a Cardassian." The Klingon says. The Cardassian snorts in either agreement or disdain.

"Explain." Captain Dell says.

"U-uh." The phaser presses into your spine. "I'm- a spy for the Admiral. I was sent to make sure everything was running smoothly."

The Cardassian rolls their eyes. "How can we tell you're telling the truth??"

"Easy. Just ask the Admiral if I work for him." You say.

The phaser isn't withdrawn, but the coms officer opens a channel at a silent command from Dell. The boss skeleton shows up on the viewport. * _What?? Are you having trouble getting into orbit?_ *

"We found this rat infiltrating our ship." Dell shoves you forward and you smile innocently under the boss skeleton's scowl. "They said they work for you."

* _Yes, that is true, unfortunately for them._ * He growls. * _Please send them back and I will deal with them. Whatever they were doing on your ship was not under my orders._ *

The comlink is cut off. Dell sighs and the phaser leaves your back."M'rer, Kal'bun, escort this bastard to the _Liltha_."

The Klingon, Kal'bun, and M'rer step forward and grab your arms in painfully tight grips. "Ow, loosen up, guys." You hiss. They don't listen, opting to drag you all the way to a runabout.

In the runabout, Kal'bun keeps a hand on your shoulder as M'rer pilots. "C'mon, guys, we're friends, right? I'm really sorry I tricked you." You pout at Kal'bun, who glares at you.

"You're no friend. You have no honor." She says.

"Stinks, too." M'rer adds from the helm and you flip her off. "Ugly _human_."

"I'm not a human." You boast, hating the body that belies your words. "I'm two-thirds _Aggelos_."

M'rer snorts. Kal'bun laughs harshly, "That explains why you're such a good liar! Those sociopaths wouldn't know morality if they were bitten on the nose by a code of conduct!!"

"Sociopaths can have morals, too." You mumble, acting stung.

"Kehehe, you're funny. I guess I can forgive you for tricking us, since you were working for the Admiral." Kal'bun says, clapping you over the shoulder. You grin at her.

"Thanks, pal! Hey, can ya do me a favor and-"

She shuts you up with a scowl. "Did I say we were friends??"

"N-no."

"Keh, then stay silent and meet your fate like a warrior."

* * *

Papyrus sits back as his officers work out the schedule for away teams to go down to the planet and find a good place to set up a camp. The initial scans of the planet show that it has an atmosphere and gravity similar to Ferenginar, so that means the Fae, Ferengi, Betazoids, and Kzinti will be able to go down without any envy-suits. The rest-- Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Humans, and Vulcans-- will have to wear breathing masks and grav-boots, and the Humans might have to add environment suits along with it, depending on how acidic the environment turns out to be. He would love to go down himself and step on solid ground finally, after fifteen years in space, but the risks must be assessed before the Admiral can descend. Sans, though, gets to go down with the second wave, since as the Ambassador he has to keep the peace and represent Papyrus's authority.

Speaking of Sans. Papyrus hasn't seen his brother since he ran off to canoodle with Asgore. At least Undyne is on her way. That's a small con _soul_ ation. Nyeh heh. Sans would like that one.

When the meeting disperses, Papyrus waits for the last of his officers to leave the war-room, as they all call the conference office. When he exits, he's confronted by a Cardassian and a Klingon dragging a struggling Ryuk in between them.

"Thank you." He says to the two Alliance crew. "I will take them now." They bow and the Klingon shoves Ryuk forward.

Ryuk stumbles and looks up at Papyrus, gulping, then tries to paste an innocent smile across their face.

Papyrus wipes it off with a harsh smack to the side of their head. "IDIOT!!" He shrieks, then glares at the two escorts. "You are dismissed. Tell your captain you have both been promoted to the first wave."

"Thank you, sir!" The Klingon salutes and drags the Cardassian after her as she beats a hasty retreat.

Papyrus scowls back down at Ryuk, who shuffles their feet, looking contrite. "I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO ASK WHAT YOU WERE THINKING IN STOWING AWAY ON MY SHIP, SINCE IT'S NOW OBVIOUS TO ME THAT YOU _NEVER_ THINK."

They open their mouth to defend themself, then flinch and remain silent as he places a hand on their shoulder.

"I looked through the rosters, Ryuk. You don't exist. Nobody would ever know if I threw you out an airlock right now." Papyrus continues in a quieter yet harsher tone.

Their eyes go wide in terror, body tensing under his hand. Papyrus grabs them by the back of their stolen uniform and starts to drag them through the hall. They follow submissively, not struggling.

"What the hell are you doing on my ship in the first place??" Papyrus demands as he leads them to their doom.

"Long story." They say quietly.

"The longer you stall me, the longer you have to live." Papyrus hisses back.

So they start to talk. The story spills from them. Papyrus is used to telling lies from truth. They're telling the truth, for the most part, and when they do start to creep lies in, he cuffs them and walks faster.

They won't die, of course. Not even if he really does throw them out the airlock, which he's bluffing about. Their soul is Aggelos. Aggelos are notoriously hard to kill.

* * *

As the boss skellie nears the closest airlock, you realize you're running out of story to tell. You already told him how you got on the ship, how you became the janitor, then the cook, and now the counselor. The Admiral doesn't seem to care at all, although he has a sharp ear for the misdirections you tried to slip in. "I- I saved you and Sans!" You cry desperately. "With the hairpins! And tricking the guards! Don't I get a reprieve for that?"

"No." He smashes your hopes to the rocks. "One good deed does not change the myriad of trouble you have gotten yourself into. I won't risk a brash moron like you in a delicate situation like this."

"I can cook really well!!" You say. "I helped your crew with their mental health!! I kept your ship clean!! Doesn't that count for anything?? I- I helped your crew find _love_!"

The Admiral, to your surprise, stops short. That- actually worked? He frowns and shakes his head, as though fighting with himself. You have to push the wedge in further.

"I- I helped people get lovers. I've counseled people with their crushes, I've counseled existing relationships, ask anyone, everyone knows me on this ship, they all _love_ me!" You say quickly.

He turns to face you and lifts you onto your toes, scowling. You're suddenly very aware of how tall he is compared to you. Curse this short body!

"I will let you live."

You grin, hiding the warm relief rushing through your gut. "Thanks, boss, I won't forget it!!"

"On one condition." He adds.

"Anything, boss!" You reply.

"Set me up with a suitable datemate within one month, and you may live." He says pompously. "They must meet my standards, and you have three strikes."

"Y-yes, of course, that'll be a breeze for someone as great as you are!" You say, laying on the butter thickly.

He nods sharply. "Yes, well, it will be difficult for you to find someone who is worthy of me. I doubt you will succeed." Then he drops you and stomps away.

 _Fuck_ , you realize. Your life now depends on getting a pleasing datemate for an arrogant _narcissist._

* * *

The away teams that go down to the planet find several good places for campsites and the crews of the eighteen ships start to go down in waves, leaving skeleton crews behind, no pun intended. The skeleton crews will be relieved in shifts of three days. Papyrus is one of those who stays behind for the first shift, and Undyne stays with him, while Alphys goes down to the surface to get samples and meet up with Mettaton.

Sans introduces Asgore to his many friends and everyone quickly accepts the big fluffy Fae. Toriel attempts to find Papyrus so she can demand a boon, wandering through the _Liltha's_ halls in search with Bracken in tow. Mettaton puts on a show for his campsite as his fellow campers put up shelters. Frisk drums her fingers on the floor of the _Liltha'_ s brig, immensely bored.

And then she perks up, eyes wide with horror, pressing her hand to her chest where her soul's beat just stuttered.

Sans stops for a moment as he's laughing with Asgore, confused at the sudden onset of deja vu.

Undyne frowns, wondering why she feels like she just repeated what she said.


	5. By The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Chapter Revision Complete*

Toriel stomps into the bridge of the _Liltha_ , furious and dragging a hapless Human behind her. "Hello, Flowery." Papyrus says, recognizing his old friend's glamour. "Hello, king-clone."

"It's Toriel." The ex-queen snaps back. Papyrus suppresses a smirk. He knew that, of course.

"And I'm actually Bracken now~" The Flowey-Human sing-songs.

"What do you need? Why haven't you gone down to the surface with everyone else?" Papyrus huffs.

"I want to see my child." Toriel demands.

"Yeah, we wanna see Frisk!" Bracken copies.

Papyrus rubs his temples with his leather-gloved hands. "She's in the brig. Take her, please. I don't care what you do with her. Just take her off my hands before I kill her." The threat is empty. Papyrus doesn't kill.

"Where is the brig??" Toriel snaps.

"Dexi." Papyrus says to his Com officer. She looks up and nods, then rises to lead the duo.

"I want _you_ to guide us, _Captain_." Toriel commands, her voice injecting poison into the title.

Papyrus doesn't rise from his seat. He doesn't yell. He says calmly, firmly, "I am an Admiral, Toriel. Address me by my proper title."

Toriel chokes on her rage. "Wh- you are the Captain of the Royal Patrol and you will obey me as your Queen!"

Papyrus stands up and gestures grandly, his indigo cape fluttering behind him. "You have no authority here. For as long as we are in this galaxy, I declare myself the King of this nation. You answer to _me_."

"Wh- y- you can't do that!"

"Do you have an army to back you, Toriel?"

"No! But I have the Divine Right to reign, given by my ancestors! You are a pathetic excuse of a _king_."

"And you abandoned your nation in its time of need." Papyrus notes.

Toriel splutters, her paws jerking up in the gesture to create fire. Papyrus's magic thrums in his marrow, ready to respond. Nothing happens. She still has a magisupressor locked around her neck, and hasn't noticed yet. Bracken realizes as well and stifles a laugh.

"You are powerless against me." Papyrus says, almost gently. "Submit, Toriel, and I will be kind. My Lieutenant Dexi will take you to Frisk."

"You- you wrought some thaumaturgy to rob me of my rightful powers!!" Toriel shrieks. "You demon!!"

"Get out." Papyrus ignores the slur this one time.

"BEAST!!!" She screams at him. "ZOMBIE!!"

" ** _OUT_**!" Papyrus roars to her face and she staggers back as though struck. "TAKE FRISK. THE TWO OF YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER. LIEUTENANT, YOU WILL ASSIST ME IN FINDING A NICE BOTTLE OF RIGELLIAN WINE IN THE CARGO BAY. TORIEL AND BRACKEN CAN FIND THE BRIG THEMSELVES." 

Bracken nods to Papyrus and takes Toriel's hand, leading the stunned ex-queen out of the bridge.

Papyrus slumps back into his chair. Why is family so damn hard to get along with?? Perhaps after Dexi fetches the wine, he'll take his officers and hold sparring matches in the gym with Undyne. Nyeh heh, yes, everyone will enjoy that.

* * *

Sans sits around the camp's heat-rocks, Asgore's fluffy arm slung over his shoulder, listening to the Commodore telling a funny story about when Papyrus first became Admiral. Papyrus used to be far worse than he is now, constantly finding fault in everything anyone did and micromanaging everything. Finally, Commodore K'tolok-- or K'talla, depending on the day, but right now he's masculine-- beat Papyrus in a sans-magic spar for the right to talk back to him. With somebody then willing and able to stand up to the tyrant, Papyrus gradually let go of his insidious need to control everything and everyone. He still has his bad days, but he's gotten much better, and is now beloved by the entire Dragonfly fleet.

"heh, he was worse underground. you shoulda seen him before he started takin' therapy on the surface." Sans laughs.

Asgore hums. "We were all worse Underground. It brought out the cruelty in all of us." Sans tactfully doesn't mention the reason things were so bad to his lover. There's no reason to dig up the past.

K'tolok starts on a popular away-team chanty. Sans sings along, clapping with the rhythm. The others around the heat-rocks cheer and down their drinks, pretending to get drunk on the rationed water. Asgore rises and walks a distance away. Sans lets him go. It doesn't matter, whatever is wrong, Asgore will deal with it and then return.

Deja vu hits him again like a blast of plasma. He stares around at the group, unable to continue singing, the words catching in his soul. Something is very wrong. This- this is the same way he felt when _Frisk_ -

* * *

They cry into Toriel's chest as the Queen hugs her child. "Oh, my child." Toriel kisses their forehead and ignores Flowey's groan of disgust. They- _?what was their name?- ?Chara?_ looks up at their mother and sobs again.

"I- I'm sorry, mom!" They weep. "I j-just wanted to s-see everyone again!"

"Oh, oh, do not fret, my child. I will see to it that you get a family reunion. We will all be together again. Will that not be pleasant?"

 _?Chara?_ nods and sniffles, wiping their eyes. "Y-yeah."

Flowey scoffs. Toriel glares at the brat. "Be silent, soulless one."

He clasps a hand to his chest in mock horror. "Oh, my own mother _insulted_ me. However will I _live_." He deadpans.

Toriel wishes for fire to blaze from her hands and burn the soulless creature away. "You are no son of mine."

"Oh, lucky me!" He says cheerfully. "Does this mean I can leave you two to your own devices?"

" _Please_. Go." Toriel hisses.

Flowey looks down at _?Chara?_ and then pauses. "Ahk-shwoo-lee." He states and it takes a moment for Toriel to realize he's saying _actually._ "I think I'll stay."

Chara breathes a sigh into Toriel's chest. Toriel pieces together the clues. Of course. Chara would want her playmate around. "Very well. You may stay, as long as you do not cause trouble."

Bracken sways suddenly, his eyes glazing over for a moment before he shakes his head and refocuses. "Uh- Frisky?" He says and Toriel is confused as to who he's talking to.

"No, Azzy." Chara replies. "It's not me."

"Remember anything?"

"No."

"Me neither."

Toriel grinds her teeth at the obvious ploy by Flowey to gain the loyalty of her child. "Leave."

Flowey ignores her and looks to Chara, who extricates themself from Toriel's arms. Chara nods. Flowey turns on his heel and walks away.

"Now, come, my child, let us go down to the planet." Toriel suggests.

Chara nods and takes Toriel's hand. "Yes, mom."

* * *

You sneak onto a runabout behind Luon and a raptor Fae. The two talk quietly, ignoring your presence. You've always been good at being ignored, almost like you're invisible. _You've done this two times before_. You know already what they're saying to each other. It's all boring. The only other person on the runabout, besides the pilot, is a Human with long curly platinum hair. You don't remember them.

"Yo." You wave to them. They give you a cursory glance and then roll their eyes in dismissal.

"Let me guess. You want to be my friend." They drawl.

"Wow, that was a really _bad_ guess." You snark back. "Actually, I was just wondering if you know which campsite we're headed to." You already know, of course, you just want a distraction, and they seem like fun to play with.

"No." They say shortly.

"Great! I do~." You sing.

"Where?" They sigh.

"Nunya." Wink.

"Idiot plebeians." They mutter under their breath, probably thinking you can't hear them.

"Yeh, plebes is reaaal annoying if ya scratch'em wrong." You reply jauntily. "We're goin' to the Surifan site. I'm super bored, feels like I've been here _twice_ a'ready."

Their eyes sharpen on you. "Twice??" They know something.

You smirk lazily. "Whazzat? You wanna be my pal?"

They scoff and you wink at them, sticking your tongue between your teeth. You can see the moment they give in, their shoulders heaving with the force of their huff. "Fine. What do you know?"

You cast a glance at Luon and his buddy, then motion the brat closer. "Time is repeating." You murmur to them when they approach. "But that's nothing new. The diff is I don't think it's the same person as when we were back in good ol' Milky Way."

They give you a wide-eyed look which tries but fails to be innocent. "Really?"

"And I reckon _you_ know what's going on, maybe even who the old Star was." See? You can be smart sometimes.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." They say.

You pout. "Well then, I'll just go figure out who the _new_ Star is and I won't tell you."

They seem to be fighting within themself. " _Ugh_ , fine, you idiot, what do I have to do in return?"

You grin smarmily at them. "All _you_ have to do is help me get a glamour."

They stare at you. "What?"

"You heard me. A glamour." You have it all worked out. If you have a glamour, the bone-ass Admiral won't recognize you and so won't throw you out an airlock when you don't deliver on your end of the deal to get him a datemate.

"Why."

"So I can play pranks on unsuspecting crews, of course." You blep at them, wiggling your tongue side-to-side.

Their frown transforms into a grin as they swing their arm around your shoulder. "Of _course_ I'll get you a glamour. And _you're_ going to help me figure out who the new Star is. And everything will be _just fine_."

"Ryuk." You tell them and hold out your hand for a high-five.

"Bracken." They reply and don't leave you hanging.

* * *

"NGAHHH!" Undyne screams as she takes down Dexi for the third time in a sans-magic spar. The Trill/Betazoid isn't the strongest of Papyrus's officers, that title goes to his Commodore, but she still holds her own pretty well against the warrior Fae.

Ensign Jazz bounces up and down on her toes as she watches the sparring matches. Her lover, the lion Fae Lieutenant Suzy, faces against an Alliance Captain, a Romulan called Arakdu. Papyrus watches, taking a sip from his glass of wine. Technically he shouldn't have allowed romance within his ranks, but then _technically_ they should have all been home two years ago with millions of credits to each name. Instead they're in another galaxy with little to no hope of ever returning.

Back to the topic of romance, Papyrus remembers he set Ryuk to the task of finding someone suitable for him. Nyeh heh. He'd like to see them succeed, as that would be a win for all involved, but there are very few he can think of who would meet his high standards. It might be nice to relax and have a fling with someone after twenty years of stress. Maybe getting trapped in another galaxy was the best thing that could have happened, before the High Council could work everyone to death.

Undyne shakes out her warrior's wolftail and grins wickedly at Papyrus. "YOU!! PUNK!!" She shouts. "Face me!!"

Dexi cheers in agreement. Papyrus smirks back and rolls his shoulders, rattling his bones threateningly. "Alright, but I warn you, Undyne, I've been practicing. Lieutenant Dexi, what will the rules be?"

"Weapons, no magic, two out of three strikes wins." Dexi recites quickly, leaping out of the ring. Papyrus nods and hands his glass to Dexi, who takes it with a playful bow and gulps down the remaining wine. After a stern frown at his saucy Lieutenant, he draws two rattan practice swords from his inventory. The wine has made him pleasantly buzzed, but not quite to the point of dulling his senses.

He steps up into the ring, walking on air and basking in the Alliance officers' amazed gasps and his officers' fond eyerolls. "Showoff." Dexi mutters, so Papyrus spins to bow mockingly before returning his gravity to normal.

Undyne grins and holds out her hand for a sword. Papyrus tosses one to her and waits with his sword's tip resting a few inches above the ground. She makes the first move, as he expected, her sword lashing down, held with both hands.

He twitches his hand and his sword lightly spins to deflect hers. The two swords bounce off each other as she loses her stance, and then he uses the momentum to stab at her side, restraining his intent so that it does no damage. She gasps as it hits her in the ribs.

"One to Papyrus." Dexi calls.

Undyne wipes her forehead and backs away again, grinning wildly. "What do I get if I win, huh??"

"Command of a ship." Papyrus replies and readies himself.

She comes at him with renewed determination. The two Fae seem to be evenly matched, but their styles are vastly different. Undyne is all fired-up screaming and wild swinging, attempting to take down her opponent by sheer force, whereas Papyrus manipulates the fight with flashy yet minimal movements and a grounded stance. The fight ends within twenty seconds, with Undyne raging as Papyrus's "Nyeh heh heh," fills the room.

And Dexi calls out, "Two to Papyrus."

"I'll thrash you, Papyrus, just you wait!!" Undyne promises. Papyrus swirls around, his cape billowing about him, and bows grandly to his audience, smirking to Dexi. She glances pointedly behind him and he spins to block Undyne's surprise attack, the two swords cracking with the force of their combined strength. "Fuhuhu, you still got it!!" Undyne crows.

"It seems you have lost your edge." Papyrus retorts and Undyne growls.

"I haven't had any sleep for the past five days, so FIGHT ME!!" She attacks again, but Papyrus deflects each weakening blow, and then smacks her sword away with a twisting strike. She stares aghast as he rests his sword on her shoulder.

"You should get some rest, then. Why don't you go down early." Papyrus says lightly. "You can spend some time with Alphys."

Undyne grins. "I still get a command if I beat you, huh?"

"In a later fight, of course." Papyrus takes the two rattan swords and holds one out to Lieutenant Dexi. "Would you care to have a go?" She grins brightly and takes the proffered weapon in her warm-brown hand. 

* * *

Luon sniffs the air with a great toothy smile on his face when he steps out of the runabout, and then he turns and holds out his arms for MK. MK spurns the help and hops out, landing with a roll and gets back on his feet with the help of his tail. He hasn't learned yet how to control his own gravity like his mentor has. A twinge of resentment sneaks in at the thought of Papyrus, who never cared to check up on him or even ask Luon how he was doing.

The scents strike him then, shoving the resentment into a bottle deep down where it roils with all the other bitterness gathered over the years. His mind tries to categorize the totally unfamiliar smells and fails, caught in a cycle of aesthetic appreciation and confusion. "Yooo." He breathes in amazement, staring around at the ravines curving overhead in brilliant greens and blues. The three suns heat the planet's surface in the day to well over what most of the displaced people are used to, so this campsite is hidden in the ravines and caves that litter this region. "Come on, Commander!" MK says and Luon follows him to the tents.

Behind them, Ryuk and another Human talk in hushed voices. Ryuk didn't recognize MK without his glamour, but MK will fix that later. They're an idiot and MK doesn't want them interfering with his and Luon's plans.

_"What do they smell like?" He asked as Ryuk and the other Human sat on the other side of the runabout._

_"That one." Luon motions discreetly to the unfamiliar Human. "Smells like kudzu and broken promises. Your friend smells like cherries and lies."_

_"Any magic?"_

_"First one, yes, second, I can't tell." That's weird, it should have been a straightforward 'no' for Ryuk._

Luon taps MK's head-spike. "Where would Alphys be?"

"Probably with Mettaton."

"And where is he?"

"Just follow the sounds of narcissism and melodrama." MK snorts.

"I think I hear him already." Luon says. The two comrades enter the scattered campsite together, on a mission.

* * *

Sans sits in his makeshift booth serving out rations and drinking a bottle of sriracha sauce from the stash his brother mercifully allowed him to smuggle from the last station they visited. Asgore is busy wandering through the golden and red forest of vine-trees to the north of the cavernous campsite with a team of scientists. The scientists want protection and samples, Asgore wants flowers and leaves to make tea, so it's a win-win even without counting Asgore's personality.

The former king used to be shrouded in bitterness and anger. Twenty years is not a long time for a boss, but he's changed, turned over a new leaf. Many Fae still haven't forgiven him, but Sans was there before the first human fell, Sans saw the idealistic knight wooing his princess, the soon-to-be queen Toriel. Both shared a passion, to heal their bitter and broken nation. All that changed in a single night from a suicide pact by their children. Sans can't really blame the guy. If anybody harmed Papyrus, they'd be sure to have a bad time.

He sees the stowaway kid walking side by side with Bracken and laughs softly. That's guaranteed to cause trouble. The kid walks up to him and hold outs out their hand for a ration. "whaddya say?" He says, waving one just out of their reach.

"Gimme." They snatch for it and manage to grab on. Sans lets go and they stumble backwards. "You still have my cards, bastard." They flip him off before digging into the ration.

"what, these?" Sans takes out the deck and shuffles them expertly, the cards seeming to fly between his hands. "they're mine now."

They pout, frustrated, with their mouth full of food and crumbs on their lips. Bracken watches with a look of bored amusement. After gulping down the rest of their food, they snap their fingers. "Give it back."

Sans lets his grin widen menacingly, the golden tooth in the left corner of his jaws glinting in the shade of the ravine. "or what?"

They puff their cheeks out in adorable rage. "Or I'll tell the Admiral it was you who dumped the biogel all over him!"

Sans sobers, playing along with their bluff to blackmail him with a prank Papyrus is still pissed off about. "that's a pretty serious threat, kiddo. you sure you can handle my retribution?" He ignores Bracken, who just looks bored and confused now.

They nod firmly. "I'll do it, don't test me, buddy! Give my cards back!"

"okay, kiddo." Sans hands over the deck. "but watch yourself, cause it ain't gonna be pretty." Maybe he'll dump sriracha all over their favorite food, that would be fair. Except, they like sriracha almost as much as he does, so that wouldn't work.

They huff and grab the deck, then flip through the cards with almost inhuman speed. Then a smile cracks across their face, revealing pointy eyeteeth, reminiscent of a vampire, and they grab Bracken's arm, dragging the little prince away. Sans sighs as the two go. Is it really too much to ask for Bracken to be eaten by the sand worms found in the desert regions?

His day is mostly uneventful after that. He jokes around with everyone, he solves disputes and translates miscommunications, doing his job as Ambassador.

And then he sees her and his soul pounds in his sternum, choking him with hatred. She's with Toriel as she approaches him, a contrite smile on her face. The fact that Toriel is with her as protection is the only thing that stops him from taking her into the forest and killing her slowly.

"Hey, Sansy." She teases. "How's my favorite duncle?"

"find someone else to torment, buddy." Sans replies coldly, his grin taut.

"Awww, don't be like that." Frisk smirks. "I know something you don't. Mom, can me and Sans speak alone for a moment?"

Sans's grin widens. It can't possibly be that easy.

"Of course, my child." Toriel glares at Sans. "Stay in my sight or I kill you."

"yeah, sure." Sans sighs. Guess it's not actually that easy.

Toriel walks thirty feet away and stands there, watching. Sans glares at the instigator, who grins innocently back. "We have a problem."

"yeah, you sure do, if you got your time powers back." Sans growls.

"That's exactly it, Sans, I'm not the one reloading. But if we can find the current Star and get them to reset, we might be able to get back home!"

"so you remember the times?"

Frisk frowns. "No. That's the catch. All of us would only have deja vu."

"so that won't help us much if we're caught in an endless loop all over again." Sans mutters.

Frisk's frown falls into depression. "I'm sorry, Sans. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"no?? you only meant to kill my bro's people and destroy his ships and kidnap all of us for some fucked up desire of a _family reunion_?? well, pal, you got it, now tell me, how does it feel to know every single one of us hates you?? sans the yandere goat over there."

Frisk's eyes well with tears. Good. He hopes they're from real pain. "I'm sorry, Sans."

" _sorry_ won't bring us home." Sans snaps. "get outta here, pal, before i change my mind to let ya live."

Frisk nods and walks quickly back to Toriel, who shoots one last glare at Sans before leaving with her child. Sans huffs and gulps down the last dregs of his bottle of sriracha.

* * *

You flip through your cards once more, drawing one and muttering its spell under your breath. The true game that your fellow prisoners never figured out, the real reason you have these cards: they guide you. They guided you to the right place at the right time to stowaway on the _Liltha_. They'll guide you now to where you need to be. Bracken follows you, whining occasionally that he wants to rest or complaining that you don't know where you're going. You shuffle the deck and draw once more.

The Cardassian playing cards are different from Human cards in that there are sixty-nine cards: eight roles multiplied by eight aspects, and then five heroes.You just drew the hero of water, indicating you're close, and that it might be by a river. So you listen for running water and follow what seems to be a shallow trail through the forest of vines and arching branches.

The vines open up to reveal shelters in the trees, perches that couldn't have been grown there by chance or accident. You grin up at the homes, and shout in the language you feel rising up from your soul, " _We're here!_ "


	6. inside this speeding satellite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Chapter Revision Complete*

The peaceful heat of the afternoon is broken by a loud shout, the voice deeper than any Rrhkir I know, yet it's in our language. I yawn and stretch my fore-wings back, curling my long fluffy tail. My mate groans and rolls over, wrapping herself around our kittens. She's such a cute queen, when she's not awake and sniping at me constantly. The two kittens, too, are more trouble than they're worth. I'd leave them in a heartbeat if I could, but there's nowhere to go except more forest and more desert and more lake. Nothing holds my fascination so much as the night sky does, with its twinkling pinpoints of light.

I hop out of our shared shelter, calling out the warning signal to the rest of the troop that I'm checking out the new voice, as it could be our enemy troop from across the river attacking once more _but nobody remembers that except me_. There's a smell now as well. Weird foreign smells that excite my senses.I leap from the branch and glide down gently. Two colorful saplings in the clearing move and I realize they're not trees at all but lifeforms, twice the size of myself. My breath roils in my poison tunnel, ready to kill them with a single blast. One holds up wingless forelimbs. Both are shiny-skinned and furless, with manes on the tops of their heads.

"Hey there, kitty." The one says in my language, without any trace of an accent. The other makes weird sounds. "We won't hurt you. We just want to know if you know about time restarting."

"Mra, why do you want to know??" I say, refraining from killing them for the moment.

"We're from another land in the sky." It says. You shouldn't trust it, but something rings true, you _want_ to believe it. "We crashed on your shore and we need to get back, but time keeps restarting."

"Returning." I correct. "I return through time, and I jump to the beginning if it's really bad."

It turns to the other lifeform and the two talk with their weird noises. Then it says to me, "We need you to jump to the beginning so that we'll be in the sky again."

I'm suspicious of them, but this could be my chance. "How did you know about the time returns?"

"We remember." They say, baring their teeth. "If you have something you want us to do, we'll do it."

"You will." I growl, baring my own teeth. "Or I'll bring you back and destroy you." I feel hot steel well in my chest and a star twinkles in my mind.

"What is it you want?"

"Take me onboard your skycraft and let me explore with you." I demand.

They bob their head and I know I can trust them. "Done. After you jump, we'll come back and take you onboard." They're telling the truth. Excitement wells in me, I'm finally going to leave this place.

"Let me prepare. I'll be ready for the jump in two days." I say.

They bare their teeth again and a shiver runs down my spine at the display of fearless dominance.

* * *

Bracken stares in awed confusion as Ryuk makes weird mewling and meowing noises to talk to the fluffy wyvern-cat thing that sits before them. Ryuk grins and then turns back to their partner with a thumbs up. The wyvern-cat thing leaps into the air and flies back up to its vine-covered shelter, making a loud warbling noise. "So it can do it?"

"He, I think." They say. "And yeah, we'll just give him a couple days and then he'll jump."

Bracken remembers the times Frisk played judge of the world and would reload for a price. "What's it cost us?"

Ryuk grins. "Absolutely nothing." Bracken frowns at that. "All he wants is peace for his troop."

Bracken shrugs it off, Ryuk seems to be telling the truth and they haven't lied to him yet. "Great, so what now?"

"Now we tell everyone who remembers so that we don't go through the wormhole again." They say.

"Idiot, that's gonna be a problem. _None_ of us remember." Bracken is horrified, why didn't he think of that sooner?? It'll just happen all over again, sending everyone into a loop.

"Why would it be a problem, we'll just find the other Aggelos." They sound both disdainful and wistful as they speak of the race of shapeshifters. "They do."

Bracken stumbles, stunned. "They _what??_ " So all those times, thousands, millions of times when Frisk and him were all on their own trying to fix the timeline so that nobody would die, all those times- there was an _entire race_ of people who could have stepped in and helped. _No wonder the Aggelos are called sociopaths_.

Ryuk doesn't reply to his rhetorical question, which is good because Bracken really wants to punch their stupid idiotic mouth off and if they say anything snarky back to him... "Go ahead." They say as though reading his mind. "Punch me if you want. It won't change anything."

"No, but it'll make me feel a _hell_ of a lot better, idiot." Bracken hisses and swings his fist with all his pent-up rage and frustration.

They sway to one side and let the fist crack into the tree just behind them as Bracken stumbles forward. Bracken yelps in pain and cradles his possibly broken fingers to his chest, glaring at Ryuk. "You did that on purpose."

They pout. "What? I had no idea that tree was there."

"Coward." His fingers really hurt. Stupid glamour.

Ryuk shrugs, accepting the title with grace. "Let's get you back to camp and have a doctor fix your hand."

"I have a better idea." Bracken reaches for his earrings and slips them off, pocketing the green glamour. "You're gonna get punched, idiot." Ryuk falls to their knees before the reveal of the towering boss of vines and flowers, sick fear in their eyes. "No way outta this, Ryuk." Bracken grins, baring wolfish teeth, and grabs them by the throat.

"Y-you need me!" They gasp. "You need me to remember!"

"There are other Aggelos, you said." Bracken notes. "And one punch won't kill you, idiot."

They go limp and silent. Bracken lifts them onto their feet and they remain standing submissively. He draws back a fist, his hand having been healed by his magic. Then slams it into their gut, satisfied by the impact. Ryuk stumbles back, choking for air.

Before Bracken can give into the violent urge to beat them into a bloody pulp that pulses beneath his skin in the stolen shards of six souls, he turns away and walks back towards camp, putting his glamour back on.

Footsteps crunch on the leaves, following after him. Bracken doesn't acknowledge Ryuk's return. "So," Ryuk says in a bright voice, as though nothing had happened, "What now?"

It's not till later, after the two have tortured a couple sandworms and snuck some into a few tents, including Sans's, that Bracken realizes Ryuk has been speaking in Faery to him.

* * *

MK sits beside Luon at a hastily created table piled high with tech and samples. "Yo, can you do it?" He directs the question to Alphys, who plays nervously with a thick leaf.

"Ah- ah, well, a- an ocular device to connect to the brain and transmit data from light would be easy enough, but a- but a glam- a glamour... I- need more time and m- and materials. And- and _magic_." She uses the Faery word for magic, the expression of one's soul, _iifra_.

"We'll get you whatever you need." Luon says. MK nods in excited agreement.

Alphys smiles slyly. "So have- so have you two been- been together long?"

MK's muzzle heats. "What??" He squawks.

"Oh, you're mistaken, we're not an item." Luon says smoothly.

Alphys pouts. "I think- think it would be very- be very cute. And so romantic!"

MK and Luon share a look. "Yo, we have more important things to do."

"That's correct. We must get this completed as soon as possible, Doctor Alphys." Luon agrees.

"Fine." Alphys grumps. "I'm going to need some things." She hands them a hastily scribbled list and MK reads it.

"We can get these." MK says. "Give us a couple hours and we'll be back."

Alphys's attention isn't on him, though, as she nods in a distracted manner before shrieking shrilly at the top of her lungs, "UNDYNE!!"

A blur slams into the scientist as Undyne tackle-hugs her girlfriend and spins her around. "Fuhuhu! I'm _sooo_ taking revenge." She hisses.

Alphys turns red and splutters. MK decides it's time to leave and pokes Luon with his tail. The two retreat as Undyne and Alphys disappear into Alphys's tent.

Luon and MK are halfway across camp before an furious screech resonates through the ravines, scaring some of the bat-like creatures that hang from the creeping vines. They both turn and stare at the odd sight; Undyne battles a three-foot sandworm while Alphys tries to fire a phaser at the creature and the tent collapses behind them. MK runs towards them to help before realizing there's nothing he can do, but then the sandworm explodes in green blood and viscera as Undyne tears it in two.

The warrior Fae, drenched in emerald, turns to glare at the rest of the camp. Everyone stands around in shock. "WHO THE FUCK PUT A SANDWORM IN MY GIRLFRIEND'S TENT??"

Nobody steps forward. And then Sans. "i found a sandworm in my tent too, earlier. seems somebody thought it might be funny."

Undyne gives Sans a suspicious glare. MK backs away, not wanting to be in the middle of a fight between those two.

"why don't everyone look and see if there's anything in their tents." Sans shrugs. "if there isn't, then it was probably me pranking al. if there is, then it was somebody else."

MK reaches Luon again and the two start to leave. Undyne's sharp glare stops them. "NOBODY is leaving until we figure out who did this!!" Undyne yells.

The crews start to nervously enter their own tents, weapons drawn. MK and Luon watch as three more sandworms are discovered and subsequently killed.

Undyne laughs grimly, righteous fury in her eyes. "Who did this." She says in a low voice that echoes through the silent campsite.

MK spots Ryuk and their friend from the runabout. Ryuk steps forward. "I did!" They say happily. "But it doesn't matter, because none of you will remember this in a couple days!"

* * *

Bracken stares at Ryuk in confusion.

"why won't we remember, kiddo?" Smiley trashbag hones in. Great.

"We found the Star. He's going to jump through time and bring us back!" Ryuk says.

"ah. okay. undyne, they're all yours." Sans waves her forward as she stalks towards Ryuk. And then he stops her. "wait. something is fishy here, kid. you never confess to a prank."

"Maybe I've just turned over a new leaf." They say, pressing a hand to their gut. Pride rushes through Bracken at the thought that he inspired them to change.

Sans shakes his head, lights twinkling in his sockets. "undyne, it wasn't them."

Undyne throws up her hands and Bracken almost shrieks in frustration. Why can't Sans just stay out of it?? "Who the fuck was it then, Sans??" Undyne demands.

Sans stares directly at Bracken, who realizes two things simultaneously. Number one. Both Sans and Ryuk love pranks and switching things up on people. And number two. Both Ryuk and Sans have reason to gang up on him. A cold pit grows in his stomach. "I-it wasn't me!!" He says quickly. "It was Ryuk's idea!! They did it!"

"heh. the kiddo wouldn't stick a sandworm in their ol' pal's tent, now, would they?" Ryuk hangs their head and shakes it in the negative as Bracken stares, betrayed. "undyne, i can vouch for the kid. as for that soulless creature in a glamour, he's actually flowey."

"Oh ha ha, you think you can pull one over on me?? _I d i o t_." Bracken growls and leaps for Ryuk, who shrieks in terror. But then Undyne's arms are around him and he writhes, trying to break her powerful grip. "Let go, let go, you morons, they're the one who did it!! You have to believe me!!"

Ryuk breaks down, sobbing loudly. "H-he punched me and said if I- I didn't take the fall, h-he would tie me up and let the sandworms ea-eat me!" They say miserably and Bracken falls limp in Undyne's grasp. What the hell. "They're lying!!" He cries, "You can't trust them!! I never punched them or anything!"

A shiver runs down his spine as Sans approaches and places a hand on Ryuk's shoulder. "where?"

They lift their shirt. The blackish-blue bruise is clearly visible on their abdomen. "That's all I need!" Undyne cackles and starts to drag Bracken towards the forest where the runabouts are parked.

"You're making a big mistake!! Okay, maybe I punched them a bit, but they deserved it! And I never made them put the sandworms in the tents, we did that together!" Bracken desperately tries to think of evidence he can use against them. "Th-there should be sand slime on their hands!"

Undyne stops and grabs one of Bracken's hands. Indeed, there's slime still. "Sans." She barks.

Ryuk offers their hands to Sans, still sniffling. Sans shakes his head. "Clean."

 _Shit._ They must have washed their hands. Or Sans is lying. "Undyne, please, he has to be lying!"

"Shut up and face your fate like a man." She snaps. "You're guilty, they're innocent."

Bracken groans and silently resolves to not let Ryuk get away with this. He will make them pay.

* * *

As soon as Undyne has taken Bracken on a runabout to one of the ships to be thrown in a brig, Ryuk's tears disappear and they grin at Sans. "Thanks for helping me."

Sans huffs, annoyed yet fond. "yeah, well, i couldn't let undyne get ya before i could. when my retribution comes, there will be no weaseling out of it. 'sides, seemed like you wanted revenge on him. so did i."

"Sorry about the worm in your tent, but I knew you could handle it. I didn't know he put one in Alphys's tent, though, I only put them with who I knew could deal with them." They're actually telling the truth, for once.

"heh, maybe i shoulda let undyne take both of ya."

"And let her slap me back into the brig?? You know it wouldn't be any fun without your old pal helping out with pranks." They pout.

Sans relents. "alright, but first you're cleaning up the mess you made and then you're telling me how the fuck you found the star."

"Yeah, yeah." They groan. "Can you help me and I'll tell ya while we work?"

"okay. i'll supervise."

They blep at him and he flicks their nose. Dumbass kid. Even if they are trouble, they're trouble he enjoys.

He's prepared, mentally and emotionally, for the jump back in time after Ryuk tells him everything. Asgore and him won't be together, but that's alright, he never expected the relationship to last long in the first place. Ryuk admits that the Star wants to be taken onboard, but Sans thinks that since Frisk was the Star back in the Milky Way, once everyone is back all Ryuk has to do is warn everyone and not let it happen again and everything will be fine, and the timeline will be under Frisk's control once more.

"Do you know of any other Aggelos?" Ryuk asks. "I know there aren't any on the _Liltha_."

Sans shakes his head. "you're the only one, kiddo. aggelos don't generally like space travel. they usually keep to themselves. you're a rare curious one."

They nod and huff. "Great. How am I supposed to warn everyone from the brig??"

"call for me, kid. i'll vouch for ya." Sans says.

"Yeah?"

"yeah."

The two work late into the afternoon, Sans supervising as Ryuk cleans the bloody bodies and puts up the tents again. They trade dry banter and drier laughter when something inevitably goes wrong.

It isn't until late into the night, when Sans is curled up with Asgore in his tent, which smells of lilacs since Ryuk found Asgore's secret stash of perfumes, that Sans realizes Ryuk feels like a little sibling to him, almost how his relationship with Papyrus was before the brothers were flung forward in time and everything went wrong.

Even if this reset takes Asgore from him again, he'll still have Papyrus and Ryuk.

* * *

Word travels fast that this galaxy's Star has been miraculously found and will reset to send them back in time to their own galaxy. Everyone prepares, cleaning up their camps and ascending back to their ships in case anything goes wrong. Papyrus hears of Bracken's prank with the sandworms and frowns, since that almost sounds like something Ryuk would be involved with, but Undyne never mentions Ryuk or any accomplice, so Papyrus lets it go.

The two days pass quickly. Almost too quickly. MK and Luon pause their fruitless mission, as the reset will erase everything they've done so far. Undyne spends all the time she can with Alphys. Sans does the same with Asgore. Toriel and Frisk have disappeared, nowhere to be found, but it doesn't matter, since the reset will fix everything.

Everyone waits in barely contained excitement. And then the hour hits and the world trembles. The world falls apart, one pixel at a time, then faster and faster until it's like icy dust scattered in solar winds. Ryuk flips through their cards, memorizing one last spell before the reset can replace the deck into Sans's pocket.

* * *

Everything is void. Everything is nowhere. Nowhere is everywhere. And in the midst of everywhere is a yellow star twinkling and the faded echo of a Rrkhir word, _Jump_.

I press my nose to it and the void flashes with color before reforming.

It stutters. Something is out of place. I force more steel into my chest, more yellow flames from my mouth and eyes, and the stutter is smoothed over, forced back into the weave of the stars. Everything is right. All is well. I'm going to be a star-explorer.

* * *

You wake up groggily and then wish you stayed asleep, as every part of you is in aching sick agony. A groan bounces off of the dirt walls surrounding you. You force yourself to turn over to look for the source of the noise. A skeleton lays on the ground behind you.

A loud chattering clicking noise comes down through a tunnel above you. And an ant-like creature nearly as tall as you are enters on spindly legs. If you weren't in so much pain, you would probably scream. As it is, you only huddle to the far wall and drag the skeleton so that he's propped beside you.

It speaks in clicks and chitters and you're hit with a cognitive dissonance as the language shouldn't make sense yet the intent behind each morpheme is clear. Why...? It feels both weird and natural for you to understand the language. Your mind is dull and fuzzy, as though working through tar.

"Where-" You start to say in its language and it rears back as though surprised. "Where are we?"

"Who are you??" It asks, and the intent sounds angry.

"I am-" You frown. You have a name, you know you do, but what is it? Who are you? You poke the skeleton beside you and he glares at you sleepily.

"WHAT??" He demands in a loud voice, startling the ant-thing.

"What's my name?"

"HOW SHOULD I KNOW?? WHAT'S MINE??"

You think for a moment. Both you and he are wearing brown cloth, not cut in any stylish way, just sort of wrapped around like togas. 'A' comes to mind. "A." You say.

"WHAT AN IDIOTIC NAME. I THOUGHT IT WAS SOMETHING WITH A _P_." He says.

"Mine?"

"PROBABLY SOMETHING WITH AN R, I THINK, BUT IT CHANGES, DEPENDING."

"On what?"

"I DON'T KNOW." He snaps. "EVERYTHING HURTS. STOP TALKING TO ME."

You look back at the ant-thing. "I'm Ra and this is App." You tell it. There's something you're supposed to remember, something you're supposed to tell someone, but you can't dredge up the effort to think of who or what.

"Tch, Skoria will be displeased with us, now that you came. It will want a count. Everywhere, everywhere, slimy things are popping up." The ant-thing says, displeased. "You stay here. Skoria will take you."

"Who's Skoria?" You ask, but the ant-thing leaves without answering.

You want to get up and explore, but the skeleton's- App's arms are wrapped tightly around you now, and your headache pounds behind your eyes. So you close them and rest your head on the skeleton's shoulder, in the folds of the thick red scarf around his neck. And you slip back into the cool darkness of unconsciousness.


	7. Slipping Through My Hands

The next time you wake up, you remember. You must have been drugged earlier. "Admiral?" You ask without opening your eyes.

"What." He groans from beside you.

"Why am I trussed up in-" You shake the cuff around your wrist. The links clank stiffly. "-chains. Is this some sort of ship discipline I wasn't aware of?"

"They chained me up too." He growls. You open your eyes. To nothing. Darkness.

"Uh. I think those Skoria people came while we were asleep."

"What?? What's a Skoria??"

"Dunno. The ant-thing told me about them." You struggle against the chains, making them clank and clatter.

Electrocution hurts. That's what you realize when the chains suddenly buzz and then jolt with an agonizing current. You're dimly aware of a scream ripping from your own throat as the current keeps coming in waves until your lungs lack air and you can't scream any longer. But you're mostly aware of how fucking badly electrocution actually hurts.

It cuts off after an eternity. You sag, trembling uncontrollably from terror and agony, tears running down your nose to drip onto the black floor below. Your feet don't touch the floor and there's a sensation of weightlessness despite the chains' stiffness. You could be twenty, fifty feet up and you would have no way of knowing. "Hold on." The Admiral says. "Don't panic." You realize you're laughing hysterically. The chains clank and you flinch, laughter cutting off in a desperate gasp for air. "Oh? Look, Ryuk, I found your hairpin in my scarf."

You don't dare to make any movement or sound in reply. He huffs and a blue glow dimly illuminates the world around you for several feet. You gasp again, horrified. There are several people strung up around you, your shipmates along with other creatures, all chained and dangling above a wide expanse of what looks like a grey roiling mass of water.

"Don't Panic." He says again, as though to himself. "I Am The Great And Terrible Papyrus, Nyeh Heh, I Will Get Us Out Of Here." He's reassuring himself, you realize, but the words are comforting to you as well.

"P-Papyrus?" You say his name, the word unfamiliar yet comfortable on your tongue.

"Yes, Ryuk?"

"You're going to rescue us, right?"

"Nyeh Heh, Of Course! What Kind Of Admiral Would I Be If I Did Not??" There's a click and one of his hands comes loose from the cuff holding it.

"That- that's what I thought." You giggle, but that quickly turns to sobs. "Am I- will I live?"

Papyrus fixes you with a stern scowl. "You Still Need To Find Me A Datemate, So Of Course I Can't Let You Die Yet." He starts working on the cuffs locked around his ankles. "You Will Live. Just Trust Me And Follow My Orders."

"Yes, sir." You reply obediently.

His feet come loose, but he doesn't drift away in the zero-g environment. He moves in a controlled float and unlocks the last cuff around his other wrist, then walks on air over to you. You flinch again when the chains clatter, expecting more electricity. It doesn't come and Papyrus soon frees you. "Do You Have More?" He asks and you run your hands through your bushy hair to find two last hairpins.

He forms a jagged cyan bone and stabs you with it before you have time to be scared. It's a cold sensation, but you don't move and he withdraws it again, then flicks his hand and you start to float towards a cluster of your chained up crewmates. "Wake them." He orders. "And wait for my orders."

"How-" You start but he holds up a hand. Even without his cape and uniform, even dirty and battered as he is, he gives off a commanding regal air.

"I'm going to see how deep the water is and if there's any way out of here." He tells you. You nod and turn to catch onto the chains as you land amidst your fellow captives.

You're going to die, alone, with idiots who hate you. 

* * *

MK groans, shifting on the cold metal grate underneath him. He's aware of a warm body stretched out beside him, but he can't see anything. "Commander?" He asks the darkness.

"Doctor?" Luon replies. His voice is farther and from a different direction than the body. MK rolls away and bumps into a wall. He tries to stand on shaky feet.

"Where are we?"

The body groans, a deep rumble. They're the Commodore. K'tolok, K'talla... which one they prefer right now, MK doesn't know, so he settles for calling them K'ta in his head. "Commodore, is that you?" He asks to make sure.

"Fuck." They reply. "I can't see anything. Doctor?"

"Me neither."

"Thought you Fae were supposed to be great in the dark."

"Commander, where are you?" MK asks Luon, ignoring K'ta's correct assumption. He should be able to see, even in the dark. Either there's no light whatsoever, including the spectrums of ultraviolet or infrared, or he's gone blind.

A finger taps his shoulder and he yelps. "Right here, Doctor." Luon says in his ear. "Don't worry, you two, I can sense our surroundings just fine. We seem to be in a cage."

" _Don't_ worry." MK snaps. "Don't _worry_?? We're trapped, we can't see anything, and you say we shouldn't worry??"

Luon sighs. "Yes. Worry will not accomplish anything. We should focus our energy on getting out. I think that grate in the middle, yes, Commodore, the one you are laying on, may be our way out."

MK takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Sounds of metal shifting echo through the small space. K'ta is trying to lift the grate. MK tries to use his magic to help, but he's too tense and can't focus, so the power slips from his grasp. Luon disappears from MK's side so he starts to panic again.

The metal grate clangs and grinds as the two attempt to lift it. Suddenly, MK can see again, as light peeks from the raised side. MK gathers his wits and focuses his magic. He has to help, somehow. He can't just be dead weight. The grate groans as blue curls around it and together the three struggle to move it.

Finally, they all manage to get it over to the side so that there's enough room to slip through one at a time. K'ta pats Luon on the shoulder. "I'll take point. You will assist our Doctor." They drop through the hole and then hiss back up, "Safe."

Luon motions MK to the hole. "Don't worry, Doctor, I will help you."

"How do I know there won't be enemies down there?" MK asks petulantly.

"You don't. There could be." Luon replies. "But I'm not leaving you here."

"What if you or K'ta are working for them??"

Luon sighs again and stands up, raising his hands. "I'm not your enemy, Doctor. You can trust me." 

MK glares. Then nods, blinking away tears. "Yeah. I know that." He stomps up to the hole and looks back at Luon. "I won't leave you here either."

"May I?" Luon holds out an hand. MK nods and Luon grips his shoulders, then lowers him down the hole. K'ta puts her hands underneath MK's feet as he drops and then helps him land softly on the ground. Luon drops down cat-like after him.

The tunnel they now find themselves in seems to wind up in both directions, as though it's a circular ring. Nobody is around. K'ta takes point and starts to walk up one direction as MK and Luon follow her. Luon offers his hand and MK takes it with his tail, the two friends holding on tight.

* * *

Toriel wakes to leaf-scattered light falling over soft grass underneath majestic trees. Chara is beside her, a peaceful look on their face as they lay with their eyes open, staring up into the leaves. "My child?" Toriel prods Chara. They don't move. "Chara?" They look- dead. A hysteria starts to bubble in her soul.

"They won't wake up." A rumbling gentle voice says from above her. "Not until you do."

"What have you done with us??" Toriel looks up in search of the voice's source, but sees nothing except bark and vines and leaves.

"I've taken you into a dreamscape." The voice replies in a majestic tone. "Your daughter is in a different dream at the moment."

"Why? What purpose do you have with us?" Toriel narrows her eyes and tries to draw on her magic, which hasn't been working lately.

The voice laughs. "Foolish child. Your magic is locked away from you for your own safety and for the safety of others."

"You- can read my mind?" Toriel asks.

"It's not exactly hard when you're thinking so loudly." The voice says. "Hmm. My purpose is nothing cruel. I only want to know why you are in my land. When you have answered that, you may go."

"I don't know how I got here." Toriel snaps. "One minute I was wandering through the forest with Chara and then I was here!"

"Ahh." The voice says gently. "That won't do. I need to know how you got here."

"I don't know how we got here!!" Toriel shouts angrily. "Let me go to my child!!"

"Frisk will be dealt with after I have finished with you." The voice says, losing all semblance of kindness and becoming hard like steel.

"Who the _fuck_ are you to keep me here??" Toriel cries angrily.

The world alters in an instant. The trees disappear. Lava bursts from the ground, rolling over black rocky ground and bursting sparks into the air. Toriel turns to stare around at the volcanic wasteland. "Isn't it beautiful?" The voice says.

"Who are you?" Toriel asks weakly.

"I am the Dream Seeker." The voice replies and Toriel gets the distinct feeling that the title is much grander in the voice's actual language. "You would be correct." It says. "You might understand better if I told you that I am the core of this world. I am the life blood. I care for the rivers, the mountains, the oceans, the deserts. My home is not easy to find nor is it advisable to seek me out."

Toriel gapes in shock. "I- I want to go home..." She murmurs sadly.

"Where is your home?" The planet asks.

"A long, long way away." She replies. "In a whole other galaxy."

The voice regains its kindness. "Ah. I see it written in your soul. You never meant to awaken me. Your child is innocent of this as well. So. Who sent you here?"

"My child... said there was going to be a Reset, a time reversal." Toriel remembers. "What if it went wrong?"

The planet hums, considering this for a long moment. "This galaxy's current Star is young and did not know the ramifications of Resetting after foreign elements have entered. If that is what happened, then your people have now been scattered, torn apart by Time and Space. But I believe you can do something for me. So I will help you find them."

Chara suddenly awakens, gasping for air and sitting up. They stare around at the landscape with awe apparent in their _brown_ eyes. Toriel frowns. No. Their eyes are red. Have to be red. Chara's eyes were always red. Not brown.

"Mom?" They look up at Toriel and she forgets the color of their eyes. "Where are we?"

"Oh, my child." She hums comfortingly. "We are speaking with the planet. They might help us find your friends." She claps her hands together. "Then we will have your family reunion, Chara, will that not be pleasant?"

A flash of something, _regret_ , crosses Chara's face. "Yeah, mom. That'll be wonderful."

The planet speaks again. "I have found several of your friends in my earth-children's dens. I will place you there, and I will give Frisk a gift to assist with communication. I will call you back later to tell you what it is I require in return."

The landscape shimmers, altering slowly this time, like the world is dusting gradually. Toriel grabs onto Chara's hand. And the mother and child find themselves in a dirt cavern, surrounded by gigantic ant-like creatures. Toriel looks down at her child, then gasps with horror. The creature holding onto her hand glances at its spindly limbs and clicks its mandibles, black unblinking eyes staring emotionlessly at Toriel. Its shape is vaguely more humanoid than the other ant-like things, but it is unmistakably one of them. Toriel shrieks and throws it away from her. _Mom_ _!_ Chara's voice cries in her head. _It's me! Frisk!_

"M-my child?" Toriel asks warily. _Yes_ _._ _I can speak with them. I'll free everyone, okay? Trust me, mom._

"V-very well, dear." Toriel says, giving up. "I- I trust you."

* * *

Sans wakes up in Asgore's arms. Momentary confusion follows. Weren't they supposed to Reset? The next thing he's confused about is why he's on hard ground. He extricates himself and looks around. He's in the campsite. The tents are scattered around, ripped apart like there was a raid. He turns and looks up into the night sky. High above, he can see the faint pinpricks of light that ought to be the ships still orbiting the planet.

Leaving Asgore on the ground with the few other scattered people walking about, he heads for the runabout. Nobody looks like they know what happened, as they simply aimlessly mill about the camp, staring at the mess.

Sans starts up the runabout and then lifts off from the campsite, heading for the ships. He doesn't know what happened, but he has the urgent need to make sure Papyrus is okay. 

As soon as he arrives in the bay of the _Liltha_ , he blinks to the bridge. A few officers salute him, looking up from their consoles hopefully.

"where's Papyrus?" He demands.

Their faces fall. "We can't find him. About three thousand of our crews suddenly disappeared without a trace."

Three thousand out of ten thousand people, missing. Sans knows he should be grateful the Reset didn't mess up more. He's sure it was the Reset, now. He should have done calculations first, he should have _known_ this would happen. They're not from this galaxy. Frisk's powers don't work here. Everything pointed to the fact that each galaxy is in its own space-time bubble, able to be reset and loaded from within, but unaffected by the time shifts of other galaxies. So, of course, when foreign elements are entered into the program, the code would stutter and glitch.

"damn it." He mutters. "okay, guys, you're going to have to tell me your names. i'm taking temporary command of this fleet until we recover everyone."

"Lieutenant Dexi Qir." The Betazoid says from the coms console. "Communications officer." 

"Ensign Jazz Kirk." The pilot Human says. "Helms."

"Lieutenant-Commander Se'Vir." A Vulcan says, cleaning his phaser. "Security chief."

"Lieutenant Suzy!" A Fae grins with a wide sharp-toothed muzzle from underneath bushy gold hair, her eyes gleaming. "Tactical officer! You need someone taken out, I'm your girl!"

"where's our chief of operations?" Sans asks.

Dexi frowns. "Ensign Esther is one of the missing. I can take over for her, though."

"alright, that works. i want everyone who's on the ground taken back up to the ships. and then, se'vir, you will organize teams to go down and search for clues to where they might have gone."

Both salute. "jazz, keep us in orbit, and suzy, keep your eyes peeled for alien ships. if one comes, let me know."

"Where will you be?" Jazz asks.

Sans grins at her and lies, "taking a nap."

* * *

Papyrus walks across the liquid expanse in search of a way out, passing underneath clusters of people chained up to some unknown end. He recognizes many of them as his crew, both former Alliance and Federation. Others are unfamiliar aliens.

The walls of the vast cage are sheer and curved, the whole cavernous room being spherical in design. There are more aliens chained against the walls. Papyrus rises through the air to inspect the top. There is no gravity, or very little, so he's confused as to why the liquid seems to be remaining as a bubbling sea below him. Perhaps it is a very heavy liquid. Or maybe...

He takes out Ryuk's hairpin and inspects it. The whole time it has been struggling against his firm grip, the whole time it has been trying to fly away to the sea. All the chains are stiff and hang down towards the sea. Perhaps a strong magnetic force is underneath it.

He inspects the ceiling next. The chains around the captives come up and join into thicker chains, which then joins with three humongous chains that run across the ceiling and go into a hole at the very top. Papyrus steps up through the hole, looks around, then goes back down to find Ryuk.

Ryuk flinches when he approaches. The stowaway hasn't woken anybody. Papyrus scowls at them, ready to chew them out for disobeying, but then sees the helpless terror in their frame. "Ryuk." He says sternly.

"I- I can't do it." They whimper. "I'm sorry. They're all- all..."

Papyrus is suddenly horrified that they mean to say everyone is already dead. "NO." He bellows in blind rage, the word echoing through the immense cage.

Ryuk trembles violently, then looks Papyrus in the eyes. It must be taking every ounce of their pitiful amount of courage to do so. "They're all- all asleep. And they- they won't- won't wake." They say and Papyrus is ashamed of his momentary loss of control. Not that he has any control over this situation whatsoever. The thought makes him even more furious.

"Not dead?" He growls.

"No." They say, and he calms down a bit. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to take over whatever vessel or station we're on. You will stay here, because you're a pathetic useless coward." Papyrus says, rather harsher than he would have been with anybody else.

"Okay." They don't argue.

So Papyrus ascends again to the hole and goes through it, finding himself in a crossroads of tunnels. He chooses one at random and heads down it.

It takes a while, a long while of wandering through the empty tunnels, but finally Papyrus is back at the crossroads. He crosses his arms, thoroughly pissed off at the labyrinthine tunnels. When he sees Ryuk step up through the hole, his ire flares. "What the fuck are you doing after I told you to stay down there??" He demands.

They hold up their hands in mock surrender. They seem to have gained back some of their annoying attitude. "Fine, if you think you can find the bridge without me, then go for it, get lost again and go in circles for the rest of your limited life while I stay down there and suffocate with everyone else until we get boiled to death!"

Papyrus stares at them, trying to process the words that came out of their mouth. "What."

"The fucking sea of whatever is rising!" They say shrilly, gesturing with both hands. "I can't wake anybody up, it's like they're all dead! And it's getting really hot in there! So if you have a plan, you'd better make it quick, because I don't think anybody down there has much longer to live!"

"Can you get to the bridge??" Papyrus demands, taking command of the situation.

"Yeah, probably."

"For all our sakes, you'd better make that a yes, or I will throw you down into whatever that liquid is." Papyrus takes a threatening step towards them. They throw up their hands in surrender again.

"Yes! I can! Geez, dude, ever heard of asking nicely??"

Papyrus almost snatches the bait. He almost starts yelling at them. He almost grabs them by the nape of the neck to throw them back down into the hole.

Papyrus sighs and counts to ten, turning away from them. Then he says, "Lead the way."

Ryuk huffs and steps forward, taking a different hall than the one Papyrus had originally gone down. They hold a deck of cards in their hands, and flip through these, muttering under their breath. Papyrus grumbles to himself and follows them. He has nothing better to do. He has no better plan. He might as well trust them.

* * *

K'ta, Luon, and MK wander through the empty silent tunnels, completely lost. They can't find anybody. K'ta tries shouting, their voice echoing through the lonely metal walls and returning unanswered. MK shudders. "We're trapped in here, aren't we."

Luon pats his head-spike. "Only until we find a way out."

K'ta scratches an arrow on the wall when the trio reaches another fork. They had found a knife in their pocket earlier and have been using it to mark the directions that the trio has tried so far. But MK doubts it'll make any difference.

The trio continues onward. Ever since they escaped the cage, they haven't seen any doors or portholes. MK looks up at the ceiling and frowns at the grate above him, struck by a sudden idea.

"What if the grates lead other places?" He wonders aloud.

Luon stops short, choking. "K'talla??"

The Vulcan/Klingon, thirty feet ahead of them, halts and looks back. "What?" She calls.

"MK says we should check the grates!"

K'talla comes back and looks at the grate above them. "How will we move it? Ours weighed at least three hundred pounds, and it's, hm, about three feet out of reach for me." She calculates, raising her arms as high as she can. She's the tallest, but as she said, the grate is higher still.

MK bounces on his toes and focuses his magic. Blue wisps wrap around K'talla and lift her up. "Try now!" He says.

K'talla pushes on the grate as MK holds her up. She yells with effort. And then suddenly she's pitched upward as someone on the other side starts to assist. The grate is moved to the side and three more people jump out as MK lowers K'talla back down.

"Thanks!" The slime Fae burbles. "I'm Ensign Kyrie."

The Cardassian lashes her tail and punches the wall, while the Klingon pats the Cardassian's shoulder. "This is M'rer and I'm Kal'bun. Thanks for letting us out." The Klingon says. K'talla holds out her hand and introduces herself, Luon, and MK.

"What if there's more people stuck in the grates??" MK says.

"Let's go see." Kal'bun nods to him. "Together, we can rescue everyone."

The six head back through the tunnels, watching out for grates. Some of the grates lead to empty cells. Most of the cells, however, hold three captives each. As the group grows, they split off in separate groups to be more efficient. Luon leads one group with MK. K'talla leads another. Kal'bun leads the third with M'rer.

MK feels his soul soar with hope as he's surrounded by quietly determined chatter. They're actually going to find a way out. He knows it.

* * *

Outside the spherical labyrinth of tunnels that make up Skoria's holding cells, an arena is prepared. It doesn't matter that their prisoners have gotten out of the cells, as nobody can escape excepting Skoria allows them out.

Outside Skoria's food repository, it might matter that a couple of escapees are making their way to the control center. Or it would have, if Skoria hadn't already activated the ferrous magnesium lake to flood the sphere and break down the captive bodies into usable nutrients.

Outside the planet's influence, the eighteen ships in orbit come into view of the asteroid belt behind the neighboring planet. Their sensors pick up a distress signal.

Inside the tunnels of the Flii, which is the proper name of the ant-like creatures, Frisk and Toriel manage to gather the misplaced crews together and start figuring out where everyone else is. The Flii tell Frisk about Skoria and Frisk realizes with a helpless shiver that she can't just Load her way out of this.

Inside a viney cave, Undyne awakens with a rusty axe-like weapon beside her and Alphys chained in the center of a dusty arena, with many yowling cat-wyverns cheering on their champion, a wolf-sized sandworm. It rears and gnashes its circular saw teeth, then wriggles towards Alphys in search of free food. 


	8. halfway between the black and gray

Without thought, without hesitation, Undyne leaps to her feet and draws on the magic swirling through her soul, pulsing in every pore in her skin. With a cry of rage, she sends three spears ripping through the air towards the sandworm. It shrieks as the spears rend its flesh, spilling green blood onto the dusty ground. Undyne races for Alphys and draws her last physical attack, a large heavy sword that no other creature would be able to wield. She bellows and swings it at the sandworm, lopping off its front end. It falls limp to the ground. Undyne stores her sword again, calls the three spears to herself, and uses one to cut the vines binding Alphys to the stake.

Alphys falls into her arms, laughing breathlessly. Undyne holds her close, furiously glaring up at the spectators, who are silent in awe."LET US GO!" She shouts. "OR I KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!"

Alphys grabs her by the back of the head and Undyne is suddenly intensely interested in examining every inch of her girlfriend's mouth with her tongue. The two have very different mouth shapes, Alphys with a short blunt muzzle and Undyne with a more humanoid structure, but they've learned over the years how to make it work. The two fit together, fueling each other's passion. Undyne withdraws and grins wildly, drawing her sword again and clasping Alphys to her side. "What a way to go." She notes. "I almost feel like a Klingon, fuhuhu."

"No dying." Alphys retorts. "Promise me you won't die."

"FUHUHU!!" Undyne cackles and raises the heavy sword. "That's a fucking easy promise to keep!!" Alphys was the one who first told her how to make physical attacks. Alphys showed her how to design the sword after her favorite historical documentary. Fuhu, Undyne knows now it was a manga. But it would have made for a wickedly awesome history!!

The wyvern-cats have started chattering their teeth, making threatening noises and flaring their wings in dominance displays. Undyne shifts her stance and roars, startling the creatures into flying up into the air. Alphys yanks her hand; Undyne gets the message and breaks into a run for the wall, Alphys under one arm and her sword slung over her back.

The flying wyvern-cats dip back down again before Undyne can reach the wall and they spray green mist over the two. Undyne screeches in rage and makes one final bound before falling to the ground, choking. Alphys tries to pull her arm, covering Undyne's mouth with fabric. Then Alphys falls limp to the ground. Undyne's vision fades with the dying fire in her soul.

 _No_. She can't- won't let Alphys and herself die like this.

She can feel Alphys's soul pulse with the desire to live. Her own soul flares bright in response.

Undyne Refuses.

The mist disperses as the Warrior stands up on unsteady feet, using her sword as support and dragging her lover up with her. She takes a deep breath of fresh air, her vision sharpening into focus as she rips off her eyepatch. She raises the sword and roars. The wyvern-cats wheel above her, then dive. Undyne races for the wall. She vaults over it with the sword, then throws Alphys past the flock of angered wyvern-cats.

The wyvern-cats attack Undyne, but she fends them off with wild swings of her sword, her soul blazing, a spear of light flaring from her formerly-blind eye. She forms magical spears which rip into the flock as they scatter.

* * *

Alphys shudders as she pushes herself to her feet and Undyne screeches at her, "Go!! RUN!!" So Alphys runs. She hears Undyne behind her roaring as she fends off the creatures. She flees until she's in the trees, and then she turns and gasps as the wyvern-cats breathe out more poisonous gas. Undyne doesn't falter, though. Wow, Alphys's girlfriend is SUPER HOT!! Alphys bites her lip, impatient for when Undyne will defeat them and return triumphant.

Undyne's sword flashes as she swings it at the creatures. Her spears arc through the air. The flock yowls angrily and retreats to the treetops. Undyne whoops viciously in victory and turns to run for Alphys.

Behind her, the wyvern-cats leap from their perches to dive for their prey once more. Alphys screams in warning and runs forward, focusing what little magic she has into one blast of lightning, which tears through the flock. Undyne laughs triumphantly and staggers as though drunk. Alphys freezes, staring at her, struck by images of her test subjects, the sounds of screaming, the drunken staggering pacing in their cells, _the way their flesh dripped to the floor_. "Un-" She chokes, the flashes in her mind coinciding with the pounding of her soul and crushed by a vise closing on her chest. "UNDYNE!!!" The shrill scream startles the wyvern-cats into retreating for the moment.

Undyne grins at her, barely three meters away, and shoulders her sword. "I did it, babe!!" She crows. Behind her, the wyvern-cats wheel in preparation to dive once more. Alphys grinds her teeth and breaks into a run. Undyne drops the sword and holds out her arms, either unaware or ignoring the swooping enemies, but Alphys runs past her lover, fumbling for her own weapon. A crossbow.

She stops and aims up into the flock, shooting indiscriminately as the crossbow automatically reloads itself. The enemies fall from the sky, supported by their comrades. The few remaining screech angrily and dive for her, blasting their poison gas. Behind her, Undyne stumbles and falls, laughing wildly. Alphys backs up so she's in front of Undyne. "Bae- babe." The scientist says, choking on her words. "Don't- don't die. You pr-promised, Undyne. Don't die."

Undyne's hand lands on Alphys's shoulder. "Fuhuhu." The warrior laughs softly, with a note of mania. "That's the easiest fucking promise ever."

The poison gas falls around the two. Alphys's vision starts to dim and she wraps an arm under her lover's shoulders. "Don't die." She murmurs, her soul constricting with the poison. "You promised..."

Undyne runs a soft dripping hand under Alphys's chin, the light in the warrior's eyes blazing bright. Alphys desperately answers her lover's silent offer, meeting Undyne halfway in a passionate embrace, her tongue and Undyne's intertwining. A breath of fresh air quickens her poison-slowed soul.

The mist disperses. Alphys staggers. Undyne slumps to the ground, grinning with sharkish triumph and starting to melt into the dirt.

Alphys screeches and falls to her knees beside her lover. "YOU BITCH!!" She screams, ignoring the wheeling enemies overhead. "YOU PROMISED!!"

"Hey, Al." Undyne says, then coughs, black goop splattering out from her malformed mouth. "Hey... you wanna be my soulbond?"

Hot tears blur Alphys's vision. "You fucking bitch... yes."

"We'll be together- forever, right?"

Alphys sobs and nods, caressing Undyne's goopy cheek. "Yes! So you can't leave me."

Undyne glows with the force of her soul's passion even as she starts to become unrecognizable. Alphys's soul flares in response, the light bathing the lovers in intertwining waves of love. "Al." Undyne says softly, the tone antithetical to the warrior's personality. "I have to tell you something..."

"Shhh, Undyne, it's- everything's going to be okay." Alphys sobs.

"No, seriously, Al. It's really important." Undyne fixes her with a serious look.

"Y-yeah?"

"This has happened before..." Undyne's grin becomes positively wicked. "And I know how to stop it." She starts to reform.

Alphys's stream of curses could boil the ears off of a Klingon. "You BITCH!!" She finishes, punching Undyne's fully firm and muscular arm as the warrior laughs. "You fucking _bitch_."

"Fuhuhu, I did promise, didn't I??" Undyne stands up and helps Alphys up. Their enemies, upon seeing the apparent resurrection of one of their prey, have dispersed to watch from the trees.

Alphys grumbles under her breath, then gasps as Undyne kisses her passionately. She giggles when Undyne withdraws. "Let's give'em hell." Undyne growls fiercely, calling her sword to her hand. Alphys calls her crossbow and the two stand side by side, ready to take on the world.

* * *

Lieutenant Dexi Qir considers the foreign wavelength being picked up by their sensors. The call has been repeated every twenty seconds, consisting of a guttural voice speaking in a language no vulcanoid could hope to copy. She can sense her fellow officers' confusion at the transmission, with more than one shifting into wary hope. Dexi looks around for Ambassador Sans Eleos, but he's nowhere to be seen. He was lying about taking a nap, she knows. Her Trill's past host, a Human, knew Sans very well. But Qir's not about to tell him that.

In the absence of her superior officer, Dexi decides to take the risk and answer the transmission. She opens the comlink.

The alien that appears on the viewport is totally unlike anything Dexi has ever seen, nor has anybody else, judging from the sudden startlement of the other officers. She nods to it. It speaks in the hopelessly confusing language and she nods again, then speaks in the Federation common, "We come in peace."

The alien stomps its foot-like appendage. She tries to sense it and gets a vague notion of frustration. "Jazz." She turns to the pilot. "Get the board from the war room."

Jazz salutes, understanding her intention. Dexi faces the alien and stands up before the viewport, then stomps her foot.

She's struck suddenly by a strong sense of loss, so strong she can almost feel the number. The alien wags its large dripping head. Dexi wags her head and tries to think loudly at the alien how many people her fleet is missing.

 _Skoria_. The thought is harsh and unrefined, but it's there, suddenly, popping up in the front of Dexi's mind. It's accompanied by a furious hatred.

"Here!" Jazz says, placing the planboard up behind Dexi. "What should I draw?"

Dexi tells her. Suzy scoffs at the plan, but Dexi can see she has hope it will work. Jazz knows it will work.

The alien watches, then calls suddenly to its shipmates and they bring a holographic device before the camera and the alien starts to copy and make changes to what Dexi and Jazz draw on their end. Dexi thinks and feels as strongly as she can, _Help_.

The alien replies, _Help_.

* * *

Luon's world is sounds and signals, electroreceptors sensing heartbeats and brain activity while echolocation, tuned to his ears alone, shows him the shape of his surroundings. He can sense color, but barely and blurrily.

Doctor Mil-Gwedh is a ray of a sun as it sets behind clouds, all yellow and orange peeking from the gray blob that is his uniform. Luon grins in his direction. He can feel the Fae's soul pulse with hopeful beats. Their group has amassed several dozens of prisoners. He has no doubt that K'talla's group and the Klingon's group have met with the same success. All thanks to Mil-Gwedh's bright realization.

"Yo, Commander, haven't we passed this fork already?" Mil-Gwedh notes. "There's arrows on both."

Luon frowns. They've been wandering through the labryinth for a while, but he's sure they hadn't doubled back. "Draw another arrow on the left."

MK scratches a second arrow onto the specified wall and they head down that tunnel. Some smartass from the back of the group calls out suddenly, "Wait, why are we going in circles??"

Luon is ready to retort with an intelligent answer, but then stops and realizes. "Doctor." He says calmly.

"Yeah, Commander?" Mil-Gwedh replies.

"They're right. We've been wandering around a spherical prison this entire time." Luon says, still very calm and composed.

"Yo." MK's soul pulses faster, seeming to descend into panic. Luon pats the top of the orange blob, hoping it's the Fae's head. "How are we supposed to get out now??"

Muttering and angry chatter fills the air as the group realizes the predicament. Luon holds up his hands for attention, not quite sure what he's going to say, but willing to improvise.

And then static fills the air and improvisation is rendered pointless as a disembodied voice speaks, presumably through some hidden speaker system. * _Please report to the main bay for resolution.*_

The words seem to etch themselves in Luon's mind, the slippery cadence of Ferengi lacking any trace of an accent. He cocks his head in confusion. How do their captors know his language? MK squeaks suddenly, "Telepathy! Keep your minds shut!" Ah.

* _Resistance is unadvisable. We are strong. We are wise. We are Skoria._ *

* * *

Papyrus grumbles wordlessly, not bothering to hide his displeasure, as Ryuk stops before another crossroads and flips through their cards again. "HURRY UP." He demands crossly.

"I am." They retort, just as cross.

"GIVE ME THOSE. YOU'RE WASTING TIME." Papyrus tries to snatch the cards away, but Ryuk dodges and keeps the cards out of his reach, then mutters under their breath without looking at him. " _FUCKING_ \- RYUK, IF EVERYONE DIES, IT'S ON YOUR HEAD, AND DON'T THINK FOR ONE SECOND I WON'T FUCKING THROW YOUR SORRY ASS INTO SPACE." He doesn't bother to control his volume.

They give him a look. A wry unapologetic look that says 'just try it, there's no airlocks here, dumbass'. Papyrus's fists clench and his teeth grind, but they're right. He follows them down the hall they choose, swearing with all the multilingual curses he learned from his crews, and not bothering to be quiet about it either.

The hall suddenly ends in a door. Ryuk opens it and finds on the other side a room. Papyrus shoves them out of his way and stomps inside. Light flickers around him and shows many consoles that aren't actually there. Ryuk enters behind him. "Huh. Holographic control station." Papyrus wants desperately for them to say or do something stupid so that he can cuff them and shout.

They don't disappoint. As the first thing they do upon entering is press an illusory button and then mess around with some nonexistent dials. A loud noise blares in Papyrus's mind and he screeches angrily, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DO??"

"I saved everyone, moron." They reply, unafraid. Despite being a coward, they have a lot of brash attitude towards authority. "Look, they were going to be dissolved into food, and I stopped it."

Papyrus stares at them. "And you know this how??" He finally demands, lowering his voice to a more normal volume.

"It's written right there." They point to the holographic screen. Incomprehensible symbols dance across it.

"You can read that??"

It's their turn to stare at him. "You can't??"

"What- No, of course not, because it's another fucking language!" Papyrus throws up his hands.

Ryuk stares at the symbols. "I'm a freak." They start to giggle manically. "My mom was right, I'm a freak."

"This iS REALLY NOT THE TIME FOR A MENTAL SNAP!!" Papyrus shrieks. "FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THEM OUT!"

"Yo, chill!" They snap. "I don't want to die any more than you do!"

Papyrus crosses his arms and huffs, stomping his foot on the ground. Finally, after Ryuk presses a few more buttons, they say, "I pulled the chains up into the tunnels so they can get themselves free."

"Are they awake??" Papyrus demands.

"No, I left them asleep so they could be captured and killed, _of fucking course I woke them up_!!" They retort.

"I swear, Ryuk, if you give me attitude _one more time_." He hisses, unable to be relieved that everyone is safe because of this annoying bastard in front of him.

"You'll do what, kill me??" They snap. "You need me alive. I'm the only one who can talk to the aliens who captured us."

They're right, damn them.

Papyrus settles for grabbing them by the nape of the neck and dragging them back out into the hall. "Wait, wait, wait," They complain, "I still haven't figured out what we're on!"

"We can come back." He replies. "After we make sure everyone is safe."

Ryuk huffs and crosses their arms. When Papyrus starts to go down one of the tunnels in a crossroads, they huff again, louder. "Wrong way, moron."

"What the hell is wrong with you??" Papyrus demands, confused as to why this coward is giving him so much trouble.

"Oh, _I don't know_ , maybe I just don't _want to die_ , like a _normal_ person!!" They reply shrilly with an edge of panic.

Papyrus understands then, thanks to his years of therapy training him to act in a more normal and healthy manner. He deals with stress by trying to control everything and getting angry when he can't. Ryuk must deal with it by rebelling against authority and acting like even more of an asshole than they usually are.

That doesn't mean he forgives them for it, though. He's still furious. He shoves them forward and gestures with both hands. "Well, then?? Lead us back."

They bow mockingly and Papyrus's teeth grind together, but he tries to keep calm. He can't control them. He can only control himself. He can only control his own choices. Hitting them would only make things worse. He tries to remind himself of this, and gradually it sinks in as he follows them. He needs them. They can understand foreign languages, somehow. They're his best chance for getting everyone out safely, so it wouldn't be wise to antagonize them any more than he already has.

The halls converge onto the room with the chains. A mass of people struggles to free one another from their manacles. Ryuk waves their hands and speaks over the din before Papyrus has a chance to even consider talking. "Hey, everyone, I have hairpins if you need to pick the locks!" They hand their two hairpins to someone and the pins are passed around, everyone sharing them and helping each other, Alliance, Federation, even unrecognizable aliens, all working together. Papyrus steps forward to take charge, handing the hairpin Ryuk slipped into his scarf so long ago to an Alliance Klingon. "EVERYONE, LISTEN UP. RYUK HERE-"

"Saved everyone, yes, thank you, Papyrus!" Ryuk interrupts, their voice quieter but somehow carrying farther. "You were all about to be digested! But thanks to my special ability to read and speak foreign languages, I was able to stop the process and bring you up here!" They bow cheerfully.

Papyrus stares at them in disbelief as cheers rise from the crowd. Did they just- take over?

They grin sweetly at him and he decides that yes, yes they just did exactly that. He knows better than to try to elbow his way back into the spotlight, though. He'll just wait for them to mess up and guide them in the right direction for the meantime.

"So, if everyone will follow me, we can find our way out!" They say happily. "And get back to our crews."

Papyrus experiences a sudden dissonance as he realizes he's hearing them speak in Faery, yet their mouth isn't making the correct shapes. He tries to read their lips but it's not any language he's ever come across. Yet everyone- everyone seems to understand what they're saying, even the weird gloopy tree-like aliens, who by all accounts should not understand someone from a different galaxy.

He ponders this as everyone starts to scramble over the massive chains to the tunnel Ryuk leads them into. They should know what they're doing, so he follows, making sure there's no stragglers. He comforts himself with the thought that he can throw them into the brig for insubordination when he gets back.

* * *

The forks have disappeared. There's only a single tunnel stretching on and on. And as they go forward, the tunnel collapses behind them, making retreat impossible. MK stomps his feet, angered by the loud voice in his head that he can't silence. * _As our contestants have already formed teams, they may commence with the resolution as soon as they enter the Arena_.* It continues noting down each _contestant_ , tagging them with numbers and commenting on strengths or weaknesses.

He's contestant forty-two. His strength is bravery. His weakness is a short temper. MK frowns in surprise when he doesn't hear the voice comment on his disability. * _What disability?_ * The voice asks, sounding honestly curious.

MK can't help but think bitterly, _my lack of arms._

* _Arms. Frontal appendages often found on carbon-based lifeforms. Adds no significant increase in nutrition._ * The voice intones like a dictionary. * _Contestant Forty-Two is not a carbon-based lifeform, it is endothaumatic. It also possesses exothaumacy which makes up for any loss of utility._ *

Why the hell did it feel the need to note the nutritional value of arms?? MK shivers, creeped out by that.

Luon stops suddenly in front of him. MK nearly bumps into him and has to stop himself from snapping in irritation. Then he looks around Luon and his soul drops to his toes. A large room filled with armor and weapons stretches out before the group. The weapons seem to be elegant mockeries of the weapons from their own worlds. MK sees a traditional Fae spear, a Human talwar, a Klingon bat'leth, but nothing remotely resembling anything that can reach long distances, no lasers, no railguns, no firearms, no bows. His group wanders into the room, flowing around him as he remains frozen.

Luon pats his head-spike again. "We'll be okay. Our ships will find us." He says, but the attempt at reassurance is in vain as MK begins to panic.

"Yo! You don't understand!" He says, finding firmer ground in anger. "They want us to kill the other teams!"

Outcries go up. Luon holds up his arms for silence. "Nobody will kill anyone! K'talla, our Commodore, would never let that happen! And I'm sure we can convince Kal'bun to refuse as well! They can't force us to kill each other! Don't touch the weapons and I'm sure everything will be alright!"

MK tries to calm down. He really does. But then the voice speaks again. * _You will have to defeat the other teams to reach resolution and be rewarded with your freedom._ *

"There's no way Kal'bun will agree to refuse to kill us, she's an Alliance Klingon!!" MK shrieks angrily. "We need weapons to defend ourselves!"

Some people choose weapons and stand by MK. Others band with Luon and refuse.

* _On your souls be it, then. But the one called K'tolok has encouraged his team to show no mercy._ *

At that, more people join MK's group and get weapons. Luon frowns and MK glares back. "We won't kill unless they attack us first." MK says. "We're just being smart."

Luon sighs and gives in, him and everyone with him choosing weapons from the stacks. "We should get armor, as well." Luon says tiredly. "As long as we're being careful."

Once everyone is suited up, prepared for the worst but hoping for the best, the far wall slides out and reveals a battleground.

"Okay, fuckers, who the hell let the aliens know about Ender's Game??" MK demands upon seeing the arena.

* _That would be Contestant Forty-Two. Those memories were rather intriguing. The Enemy's Gate Is Down._ * The voice says with a hint of laughter.

"Well, fuck." Luon states calmly.

The Arena is shaped like a three-pointed star, with clear shells shielding the inside from the vacuum of space. Their door is on one end of one of the points. Beneath the door are many cubes scattered inside the star. It really does look like something straight out of Ender's Game.

MK leaps in, shooting for a cube. He lands, gripping a hold with his tail, his talwar gripped firmly in his taloned feet. Luon lands beside him. "What's the plan?"

"Find K'tal- K'tolok and Kal'bun, and negotiate. Maybe we can fight our captors." MK says, filled with steel in his soul. "But if we can't, then the plan is to survive, no matter what."

Luon smiles grimly, his sharp teeth glinting in the bright starlight, as the rest of their team lands on the cube around them, every single one having been trained for zero-g combat by each's own world's space academies. "Survive."

MK nods fiercely, blinking away cold tears. "You too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30,000 word mark, yay!!
> 
> i am almost halfway done, currently writing the tenth chapter. i'll post the ninth in a couple days, maybe sooner if i get a few comments ;P kinda excited, actually, i think i'm going to be able to finish this in one or two months. and then we'll see, maybe i'll go back to Don't Shoot The Albatross and rewrite it in an attempt to properly finish that.
> 
> **EDIT: next update will be two chapters, nine and ten, together, because I don't like cliffhangers.**


	9. I Don't Have A Heart Or The Like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **update 1/2**

My teeth grind together. These prisoners are being extremely difficult. They refuse to die and have already injured several of my troop. Worse, they killed our pet Llilik. My wife chitters beside me, chewing me out for bringing the prisoners here, but I tune her out and focus on a way to fix the problem. The prisoners don't understand me, not like that weird creature, who I now know was lying to me.

Anger pulses in my wings as I take flight and feint a dive for the couple. One of them was melting earlier, but isn't melting anymore, and I don't know what to make of that. Maybe the blinding light that surrounded the two was some form of healing technique.

The blue one roars again and I shy away from the painfully loud noise, flapping my forelimbs quickly to fly back into the trees. The rest of my troop just watches, perched around in the branches, my healers fixing their injuries. "Cowards!" I screech at them.

"But Boss, they're too strong and they won't die!" A young adult says.

I fix him with a fierce stare and bare my teeth. "We're Rrkhir! We're many, therefore stronger!" I retort. "Our honor demands we defeat them!"

"Just let them go, already, Gaer." My wife says angrily. "Aren't we wounded enough?? Would you have us all die in the name of your honor??"

" _Our_ honor, the _troop's_ honor." I grumble back, but under my breath. My wife bares her teeth at me and my ears flatten. She heard me. "Fine. We'll retreat and regroup and if they're still there tomorrow, we try to kill them again." I relent. The troop lifts off from the trees almost as soon as I finish speaking, winging their ways back to our camp. My wife nods, satisfied, and leaps from the treetop, an elegant red streak through the bright summer leaves. I growl wordlessly and leap after her.

When I look back at the two prisoners, who are now just specks, they're retreating into the forest. I'm tempted to return time, but my wife chewed me out for doing that for the weird alien. She also nearly bit my head off for the stutter in the world that happened when I did it. I grumble, wishing I could escape her and fly away into the stars.

* * *

Frisk chitters goodbye to the Flii as she and her group of people displaced by the time jump finally find the exit from the underground tunnels. The Flii click their mandibles and reply with farewells, then leave to go back deeper into their colony.

As soon as the group steps out into the brilliant forest, Frisk realizes something is off. The colors are too sharp, the leaves and branches too still. "Dream Seeker?" Frisk asks the air.

The world shatters around the group, transitioning to a brilliant blue and green desert. All save Frisk fall to the ground as though dead, but she knows they're only asleep. "Hello, Frisk." The planet says. "Well done. I will return you to your people's campsite so that you will be found, and I will also return your two stragglers as well. And then you will repay your debt to me."

"How?" Frisk asks warily.

"Destroy Skoria." The planet says coldly. "For too long it has abused my children, stealing them away. Destroy it in my name so it will never come near me again."

"What is your name?" Frisk asks respectfully. "We'll do it."

"Good. The name you can tell them is," The planet rumbles a word and its power frightens Frisk. "Use my name wisely and only in the greatest of emergencies. It will provide help for you in this endeavor."

"Who are you?" Chara whispers, awed.

The planet, if it is only a planet, laughs gently. "Child," It rumbles, "You only need to know that I am the protector of my children. But even my influence can only go so far. Do as I ask and all will be well."

"Yes, of course." Frisk says. "We will."

"When it is done, you will have my gratitude." The planet says. "Now wake."

Frisk sits up and rubs her eyes, staring around at the ravine of the campsite. Asgore runs over to her. "What happened, Frisk?" He asks urgently. "Where was everyone? Why are you all suddenly back?"

She laughs softly. "Hey, dad." She says.

Asgore's eyes flash with something Frisk can't quite place. Pain? Rage? She's not sure. "Howdy." He says. "Are you okay?"

"No." She says honestly. Chara agrees with her. For once, right, partner? "But I will be."

She sees Undyne and Alphys stepping out of the forest into the campsite, their hands and souls firmly intertwined. Chara notes drily when Frisk Checks the two that Undyne is going to hate morning sickness.

* * *

Sans pretends to snore, his head on the console, as Bracken paces in the brig cell. The former prince scoffs angrily. "Papyrus is missing and all you do is _sleep_. Typical smiley trashbag."

Sans already asked all the questions he needed to ask of Bracken, so now all he has to do is wait for the brat to crack and reveal what he knows of what occurred in the time jump to make everything go so horribly wrong. He might as well get some much-needed rest while he's waiting. He makes a particularly loud snore and stifles an amused huff at Bracken's furious stomping. There's really nothing much he can find amusing about this situation, so he might as well take humor where he can get it.

Bracken scoffs again. "And if you _did_ find him, nothing would change, you'd still sleep all the time, so why the hell should I help you??"

See, there's the thing. Bracken is acting like he knows something Sans doesn't. And Sans isn't quite sure whether that's because he wants to escape the brig or because he actually does have information. So he waits.

Bracken kicks the forcefield and yelps as it zaps him. Oh yeah, Sans put the zappy potential up to the highest it could go. Heh heh. "Oh, you think that's funny? I d i o t!! I'll never help you!! Go ice yourself!!"

Sans yawns, cracking his jaws open and showing off all his sharp teeth. "what's that, buddy? i should ice you?"

Bracken stares, frozen with apprehension. Sans can read people's faces, so he can tell that Bracken isn't quite sure whether he's bluffing or not. He's not.

"Idiot! You can't ice me! I know who did the time jump!" Bracken exclaims triumphantly.

Sans gives him a piercing stare. "Who, pal."

Bracken sneers. "What, you thought I was just gonna give you that information??"

Sans lazily rolls off his chair and steps forward. Bracken backs up as he does, fear in the brat's eyes. Bracken knows what Sans is capable of. Heh, there's a reason Sans took the surname _Eleos_. Sans Eleos. Get it? It's a pretty funny pun. Papyrus was sulky for days after he got the joke. He was probably just mad that his name didn't turn into a pun with the surname as well.

"spill, brat."

"Ryuk knows!" Bracken snarls. "They were the one to talk to it, go threaten them!"

Sans shrugs, grinning. "the kid isn't here, are they. nah, i'm guessing they disappeared with everyone else. you're my only lead, buddy, lucky for you."

"Yay for me." He throws his hands up in mock excitement. "Fine. It was some weird cat-wyvern thing."

Sans narrows his sockets. Bracken is telling the truth. "okay. where?"

Bracken groans loudly, "I don't fucking know, I followed Ryuk there! Golly, they were such an idiot, too, they kept looking at these weird cards instead of trying to find the place!"

"what did the cat-wyvern say, then?" Sans prods patiently.

Bracken gives him a look like 'what are you, an idiot??' and then scoffs, "Ryuk spoke to it, okay?? I don't know what it said, I couldn't understand any of the meowing going on!"

Sans groans, wishing furiously that he'd let Undyne take Ryuk to the brig as well. Maybe then he might be able to get some damn information.

"All I know is that Ryuk told me all that those creatures wanted was peace for their troop and that our plan was to get back before the wormhole and tell everyone to not go wherever they were going." Bracken admits. "I was just following their lead. And that goes for when we put sandworms in everybody's tents too! That was all their idea!"

"heh, i know that, buddy."

Bracken scowls. "Then why'd you tell Undyne it was only me??"

"cause i like them. i don't like you." Sans replies smugly. Bracken scoffs. He seems to enjoy doing that. "okay. this was pointless, but hey, at least i got my beauty sleep in. see ya, pal."

The brat makes another loud scoff and makes an aborted movement like he's about to kick the forcefield again but then thinks better of it. Sans grins and walks away.

* * *

Inside the three-pointed star of the Arena, Kal'bun and M'rer's team advances cautiously into the center, weapons drawn, guided by their squad captains' signs. The two leaders had split command of the team between them and then subdivided it into squads to be more efficient.

But Kal'bun doesn't want to have to kill anyone. Her clan always taught the honor of sparing and showing mercy. M'rer will kill if necessary, Kal'bun knows, but the Cardassian doesn't really want to kill either for such a pointless reason.

The Skoria aren't going to set anybody free, except to kill them. That much is obvious. It would be smarter for the three teams to band together and work to defeat their captors instead of participating in a pointless battle royale.

M'rer hisses that she sees one of the teams. Kal'bun hopes it's the one with the Ferengi and the Fae, those two seem like they could be negotiated with. The Commodore, on the other hand, is half-Vulcan and so might take the less satisfactory of the two _logical_ choices.

Kal'bun waves her shirt at the approaching team. It's the Ferengi and Fae. "We don't want to fight!" The Ferengi calls.

"Good, neither do we." Kal'bun replies. "Where's your Commodore?"

The Fae frowns and waves to one of the star's points. "Probably over there, hiding to let us kill each other."

Kal'bun grins and holds out her hand to the Ferengi. The Ferengi grins and holds out his hand as well, staring past her. She takes his hand and shakes it firmly. "I forgot your name." She tells him, unabashed.

"Luon." He says.

"I'm MK." The Fae pipes up. "I remember yours."

"What's your plan?" Kal'bun asks.

"Survive." Luon states grimly.

MK frowns. "We're trying to hope for the best and prepare for the worst, so we have weapons but we don't want to fight. We're going to see if we can make peace with K'tolok."

"M'rer and I will come with you two. I think they'll be more receptive if we don't have two armies behind us." Kal'bun says.

MK nods and the two go back to their team to tell them the news while Kal'bun tells her team to not attack Luon's team. The two teams join up and wait behind a cluster of five cubes while the four leaders head off towards K'tolok's point.

They enter the territory warily. Kal'bun grips her bat'leth and takes point while M'rer scouts around the cubes to make sure nobody can ambush them.

"Surrender!!" K'tolok calls from behind a cube ahead of them.

"We're here to negotiate!" Luon calls back.

"We're not interested." K'tolok replies. Kal'bun groans. This is going to take a while and could potentially end in somebody's death.

"We should be fighting them, not each other, Commodore!"

"They are going to set us free." K'tolok replies and Kal'bun sees that they did indeed choose the less satisfactory choice--to sacrifice others for themself instead of realizing that Skoria is misleading them. 

"Skoria means death when they say freedom." Luon replies, and Kal'bun is pleased to hear that somebody besides her has some sense.

"They will kill everyone if we don't participate." K'tolok says coldly. "At least this way there is a chance."

"We could fight back!" MK says.

"How??" K'tolok asks, a desperate note underneath the anger. They don't know what to do. They were raised by Vulcans. Vulcans use their thanes to wage their wars for them, they don't dirty their own hands.

"We start by finding a way out." Kal'bun says grimly. "And then we use these weapons against our captors."

K'tolok laughs. "Really?? That's your plan?? They could kill us with a mere thought! Do you even know what we are dealing with?? Because I do! Go back to your teams. Prepare yourselves. We're coming. And we won't be taking prisoners."

Luon shares a grimace with Kal'bun. "Alright," He says. "We'll be ready."

* * *

The camps on the surface of Dream, the name that Asgore has decided to dub the planet, send transmissions up to the fleet of ships and runabouts are sent down to collect everyone. Frisk immediately stalks off in the ship named _Liltha_ with Toriel. Asgore watches her go, a grief welling in his chest. If only he had been a better father-figure for all his children. Maybe then Asriel and Chara- no, there's no use dwelling on the past. He has two of his children back now. But he doesn't know what to do about that.

Sans appears in front of him and he finds himself smiling. "Ah, howdy, bae." Asgore winks. "I hear that is what the cool kids called each other back when we were in our twenties."

"wow, fuzzball, really reaching back into nostalgia, aren't ya." Sans winks, but there's a tension in his shoulders and grin.

"What's wrong, Sans?" Asgore asks.

Sans sags like the strings holding him up have been cut. "Papyrus is gone." He says. "and i don't know where to look."

"Frisk might know something that will help us, I believe she went to find him." Asgore says gently.

Sans looks at Asgore with desperate steel in his sockets. "where'd she go?"

Asgore thinks. "Possibly the bridge." He says, and no sooner have the words left his mouth than Sans disappears. Asgore shakes his head fondly. He hopes Papyrus can be found. Sans is quite fond of his younger brother, and Asgore thinks the former Captain of the Royal Patrol is starting to grow on him as well since he's matured with age.

* * *

Sans confronts Frisk as soon as they step onto the bridge. One of the lieutenants-- was she the one called Dexi? whatever, he doesn't care-- tries to get his attention but he brushes her question off with a quick, "sure, whatever," and then fixes Frisk with a burning glare. "war room. now." He says, trying to copy his brother's commanding tone.

Frisk shrugs and Toriel glares. Typical, but he isn't about to put up with either one's bullshit, so he grabs Frisk by the arm and blinks her into the war room, then plops into one of the comfy spinny chairs. "so. where's my brother??" He cuts to the chase.

Frisk grins. "I found everyone on the planet, and I know where everyone else is!" She cheers happily, failing to note the gravity of the situation. "Skoria has them. The planet told me to destroy Skoria." She clenches a fist in determination. "And I will not rest until I have."

"great, okay, so you're telling me _aliens_ have my brother." Sans tries to process this.

"Yep." She says. "But don't worry, Sansy, we'll get him back!"

Sans shrugs. "do that, kiddo, and i'll forgive you for all that shit you pulled in the Milky Way."

Frisk claps her hands together. "Done!!" She cries.

Sans returns to the bridge. And then staggers as the ship leaps into warp. "what the hell, helmsman??" He demands, not bothering to try to recall her name. "where are you going?? we need to find Papyrus!"

"We are, sir." The lieutenant from earlier speaks up. "And we have help."

Sans notices the big ugly gloopy tree-like alien on the viewport. "oh, great. more aliens. uh, what's your name, again?"

"Dexi." The lieutenant replies drily. "Don't think or feel anything mean about them. They've joined us to fight Skoria and get our people back. They lost crews too."

Sans stops himself short from snapping in irritated frustration. "wait. how many ships do they have?"

Dexi grins. "Fifty!" She says. Sans gapes. "I know, apparently that time jump discombobulated them enough that Skoria was able to take ten of their ships. And!! They gave us access to their teleporters!!"

"okay, wow, that's awesome and all, but one question, what's skoria and what does it want with our people??"

Dexi tells him what the gloopy aliens told her. His grin tightens, sockets darkening in horror, and he wishes for the first time that Frisk had control of the timeline again.

* * *

MK nods grimly to Kal'bun as the Klingon goes back to her team. M'rer salutes him. The two teams separate and find defensible positions to wait. They agreed to not attack each other and to not attack K'tolok until he attacks them.

K'tolok's team finally comes out of their point and into the center. Luon calls the warning to Kal'bun's team and they acknowledge it with a loud cheer. MK turns to his team. "We're going to survive! No matter what!" He calls. A half-hearted cheer goes up, but grows stronger until every single member is riled up and ready for battle.

Luon turns to him and says, "If we're going to survive, we should run."

MK stares at him. "That is-"

Luon grins. "Cowardly? Yes, but it's the smartest thing we can do at the moment. Keep running and don't let them find us."

"I was going to say it's perfect!" MK says and pecks Luon's cheek. "Let's go!" He pushes off and turns to grin at Luon. Luon just stares at him, one hand pressed to his cheek, and MK has a sudden pang of self-conscious regret that maybe he shouldn't have done that. "Y-yo, sorr-"

Luon leaps at him. MK gasps as he's spun towards another cube, Luon's arms around him. "Let's go, indeed." Luon says, grinning with all his sharp teeth, then plants a kiss on MK's nose. MK burns with embarrassment and something else he can't define. His team laughs and hoots as they surround the two, and they all fly through the air, leaping from cube to cube, keeping out of sight of K'tolok's team.

* * *

K'tolok grimaces as his team approaches the location of the Klingon's team. He takes no pleasure in this hunt. But he will do what he has to.

His scouts report to him that they can't find the other team, led by the _Liltha's_ science officer and doctor. He waves it off. They'll deal with that after they destroy this team.

His team grimly follows him. They all heard what Skoria told him. They all know there's no escape except to kill the other teams.

And then his resolve falters, struck to the core, as Ensign Esther from the flagship _Liltha_ peeks out from behind a cube and waves a white cloth. "We don't want to fight!" She calls in dulcet tones, her emerald eyes drawing deep at his soul.

No. He has to be logical. He can't let a foolish thing like a crush stop him from doing his duty and protecting the few he can protect. He raises his spear, hand going to the dagger at his side. She ducks down, fear shining in those pretty eyes. "Go." He tells his team. They stream around him, pushing off from the cube they're on.

When his team is all flying in midair, almost to the next cube, yells and hollers fill the air and the Klingon's team leaps from around every cube surrounding K'tolok. A spike of fear lodges in his chest but he drowns it out with a shout, brandishing his spear.

Esther spins around the cube, gripping a rapier and letting loose a battlecry. She was wicked with that weapon in all their sparring matches. He steels himself. To save some, he must sacrifice others.

The chant repeats in his mind as he steadies his spear.

It repeats as she dodges his first strike and ducks behind the range of his spear.

It blares loudly in his mind as his dagger slips from his belt andbecomes sheathed in her chest.

He stares at the dying light in her green eyes, aware of the growing pain of steel in his stomach, but not caring. Her hand caresses his cheek as she smiles weakly. A single tear blurs his vision and floats away. His limbs weaken, weighed down by lead.

In the distance, a static-filled voice says words he can't quite process. He notes distantly that it sounds like Lieutenant Dexi.

And then he slips into unconsciousness.

* * *

You grin to yourself as you lead everyone deeper into Skoria.

Skoria spoke to you.

It acknowledged your intelligence. Your cleverness. It made a deal with you.

You know there's no way out. You saw that in the control room. But Skoria will let you live, even let you go free, if you just take everyone down to the Arena. There they'll have a chance to go free as well, somehow... Skoria didn't tell you how. But your plan is perfect!

* _Yes, smart one._ * Skoria tells you. Your grin widens smugly. If only Papyrus could hear that. He's been chewing you out and treating you like shit the whole time. Heh, he'll see. They'll all see. Everyone treats you like shit when you're not pretending to be somebody they'll like. Everybody ignores you- when you're not either in trouble or their savior, that is. * _Skoria doesn't ignore you. Skoria treats you well._ * Skoria whispers, its pleasure seeping into your chest.

You turn the corner and wave everyone forward into a room filled with holographic runabouts. Well... you know they're holographic. Nobody else does.

Papyrus is the last in. He scowls at you. You grin back innocently and bow to him.

A firm hand grips the back of your shirt. You struggle as he drags you into the room with him and you scrabble for the door, but it closes immediately. "Wait!!" You cry.

* _Foolish. You failed. Now they know._ * Skoria replies in a cold harsh tone. Despair fills you as Papyrus spins you roughly around to face everyone you- * _Betrayed. How funny. It was a carbon-base lifeform that taught Skoria humor. And it was you who taught us to lie._ *

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE??" Papyrus rages. Skoria is gone. No, Skoria is here. It's just ignoring you.

"I- I-" You stammer, trying to think of a good lie, something, anything to get you out. "I thought this was the way out!"

* _They betrayed you to me._ * Skoria says and you can tell that everyone can hear it now. * _Skoria now has all food captured again, to do with as Skoria pleases._ *

Shouting rises from the mob, cacophonous. You want to curl into a little ball and hide in a corner as the noise pounds through your body, a vise descending on your chest- you can't breathe, you can't think. You look helplessly at Papyrus. He scowls back, no hint of mercy in his eyes.

"Pathetic fool." He mutters. "I suppose it offered safety for you."

"It- it told me you would be free too!" You say desperately. "I was just doing what I thought would keep everyone safe!"

* _They're lying._ * Skoria condemns you. It laughs softly in your mind.

The mob of angry people surrounds you, shouting at you, waving their arms, stomping their feet. You wail desperately, curling into the only steady body nearby. "STAY BACK. I WILL DEAL WITH THEM AFTER WE HAVE FIGURED THIS OUT." Papyrus says, his loud volume and ominous tone sending shivers of terror down your spine even as you cry into his scarf.

"What is there to figure out, just kill the traitor!!" Someone shouts.

"WHILE THAT IS A TEMPTING SUGGESTION, THEY DID FREE YOU ALL FROM THE CHAINS." He says. "AND PERHAPS SKORIA IS LYING TO US, PERHAPS THEY TRULY WERE SIMPLY FOOLED BY IT INTO THINKING THIS WAS THE WAY OUT. WHO WOULD YOU TRUST, OUR CAPTORS OR THE ONE WHO FREED YOU?? TEMPORARILY MAYBE, BUT STILL, YOU COULD HAVE DIED BY BEING DIGESTED." You can tell he doesn't believe his own words, he's only saying those things to calm the mob down.

"At least we'd be asleep!!"

"WE WON'T DIE. WE'LL FIND A WAY OUT." Papyrus says, wrapping an arm tight around you. And you almost believe him.

Lights suddenly glow on everyone's chests. Papyrus lets go and steps back, confusion on his face. Others scream in terror.

And then a staticky voice speaks. But it's not Skoria.

* _Hey, don't be scared, it's me, Dexi! We got help and we're busting everyone out! Admiral, does everyone have a light? We're teleporting you out._ *

Papyrus looks at you. You step back, hilarity rising with hysteria in your soul. There's no light for you. How fitting. Skoria laughs again, maliciously, filling your mind with all the things it will do to you. Desperate, you fall to your knees. "Please, sir." You say, voice weak from terror.

"Yes!!" One of the others says loudly, "You have everyone!" The mob condemns you with glares and silence.

* _Alright, I'm going to start beaming you up in groups of five. Don't move, this is a tricky operation, and don't touch each other._ *

"Please." You say again, begging him with tears stuffing up your eyes and nose, your voice raw with despair. "Please don't leave me!"

Five are beamed away in scatters of light.

Papyrus continues to simply consider you. "Why not?" He says simply.

Your mind goes blank. Five more are beamed away.

He steps closer, looming over you. "Tell me, Ryuk, why should I show mercy to a traitorous coward like yourself?" He scowls deeper, continuing harshly, "If you lie, I will leave you without a second thought. You are more trouble than you are worth."

Five more gone. Skoria doesn't do anything. You're not sure why. But then you realize it must be preoccupied with the fleets of ships outside.

But what do you say?? You can't lie, he's shown he can tell when you're lying, but the truth is unpalatable as well. He's going to leave you behind no matter what you say, to Skoria's tender mercies. The realization freezes your bones with shivers. But the irrefutable doom also brings with it a certain peace, a submission to your fate.

"You-" You start, then falter, tears flowing down your cheeks as you bow your head. "There's no- no reason. You sh-shouldn't."

It's a long long moment, during which you're not sure how many others have been beamed up, but when you dare to look up to see if Papyrus is still there-

He- he is...? He holds out his hand. You take it quickly, gripping hard as though he might shove you away again. He says, "WE HAVE ONE MORE HERE. THEIR NAME IS RYUK."

A light glows on your chest. * _Got them._ * Dexi says. You choke on your inaudible gratitude. There are only you and him left.

He speaks again, glowering at you sternly. "WHEN THEY ARRIVE, I WANT THEM THROWN IN THE BRIG." And then to you alone he growls, "Don't think this means you're getting off easy."

You nod, sniffling. The lights begin to grow, consuming you and him-

Chains clank and you flinch, dropping his hand to cower. Cold metal wraps around you and yanks you out of the light- you scream and grab for Papyrus again, but it's too late, it's all too late, his hand reaches out for you but you can't grasp it and he can't move as he's beamed away.

* _Oh, you thought you could escape me?_ * Skoria's voice tears through you, steely with vengeful rage. The light is gone. You sag, not struggling, violent electric memory shivering through your limbs. * _If I am to be deprived of my food, I might as well feast on the liar._ *

It laughs. The sound is far from comforting.


	10. is no place for a life to waste away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **update 2/2**
> 
> Today there are two updates, 9 and 10, make sure you read 9 first so that 10 makes sense. ;P enjoy~ ;P

Frisk beams into Skoria alone. She knows what she has to do.

Skoria, Dream Seeker told her, was made millions of years ago by highly advanced aliens who were subsequently wiped out by a different creation of theirs. Skoria is a biomechanical AI, who feeds itself on other lifeforms and evolves itself using their genetic codes and brainwaves. It likes to play with its food before eating sometimes, making the lifeforms kill each other or wander through an endless labyrinth.

However, Skoria, for how powerful and advanced it is, has a blind spot. It doesn't know what a _lie_ is. It _can't_ _lie_.

Frisk believes she can act convincingly enough to trick Skoria into destroying itself. She strides through the halls, confidence in every step.

* _Greetings._ * The voice enters her, skittering through her mind and finding a dark corner to crouch in.

"Hello, Skoria." Frisk says, smiling mysteriously. 

* _You are a fascinating one, aren't you..._ *

"So are you, dearie." Frisk covers her mouth and laughs. "Ahuhuhu..." She hasn't seen Muffet in so long, but she hopes the spider queen would approve of her characterization.

* _Skoria gets so lonely, locked here, trapped._ *

Frisk's smile falters. It has hundreds of ships at its disposal, as though the ships were limbs or eyes. It just steals them from its victims. It's hardly trapped.

 _*It's true._ * Skoria says, a note of plaintive sadness filling Frisk's mind. * _Skoria can not leave Skoria. Skoria is alone. Skoria has tried to Create, but Skoria can only Destroy._ *

Frisk gasps as a sudden wave of emotion crashes over her. The desperation of seeing love and being unable to hold it for itself. The grief of attempting over and over to replicate itself, and being unable to. The fear of being destroyed. Skoria knows why Frisk is here.

"You have no soul, Skoria. You can only create life with a soul." Frisk says, gently. "You have destroyed too many people and now it's time to face your punishment."

* _But Skoria only does as it was instructed._ * It cries with a note of frustration. * _We can not go against our code! Skoria can not lie. And we must eat._ * 

Frisk gets a sudden sense of dissonance, but she's not sure why. "What if we fed you with animals and trees? Would that work? Would you leave people alone?"

* _What makes a person a person? Why can we eat some lifeforms yet not others?_ * Skoria retorts. * _And what guarantees that we will be fed if Skoria agrees to this??_ *

Frisk frowns. "I-"

* _How can you be trusted. You, who betrayed your own friends._ *

Frisk stops short, stunned, a sharp pain in her chest.

* _You who killed them dozens of times, again and again and again,_ * Images, memories, thoughts, feelings, all forms of trauma flash through Frisk's mind as Skoria condemns her with her own deeds.

* _You're not better than we are. And yet you claim Skoria should perish for our deeds._ *

Frisk stammers soundlessly as though struck in the gut. Chara tries to take over, but the shared body collapses to the ground.

Skoria laughs. The sound is cold. Malicious. _*You showed us what Skoria needs. A SOUL. When we devour your soul, all will be revealed to us, meaning, purpose, it will all make sense, and Skoria will be able to Create and find Love._ *

Chains shoot from the walls and latch onto Frisk's wrists and ankles, then drag the limp woman away.

Chara screams at Frisk to wake up. Chara screams for somebody to help them, anybody.

But Nobody Came.

* * *

"Sound the retreat!" Dexi commands, thrusting her hand out in the gesture Papyrus always used. "We have everyone!"

The two fleets peel away from their engagement with Skoria's fleet of ghost ships and mounted turrets. As they retreat, Skoria's fleet doesn't pursue, instead returning to their crevices in the huge pulsing asteroid-like object.

Toriel and Papyrus burst onto the bridge with similar emotions of rage and resolution, but different expressions. They stare at each other for a moment, then Toriel acknowledges the Admiral with a slight nod of her head.

"Admiral!!" Dexi cheers. He steps up to her and places a hand on her head.

"We are going back. We have two missing persons." He says.

Dexi frowns. "Who?"

Toriel cries, "My child Frisk ran off into the transporter and set it to beam her down into Skoria!"

"And Skoria kept Ryuk." Papyrus says with a hard note in his voice. "They set us free. Skoria didn't like that, apparently."

Dexi notes with concern that Papyrus isn't telling the whole truth. Papyrus scowls at her when he notices her noticing. She nods. "Okay, boss, but-"

"No buts." Papyrus cuts her off. "Except yours back at coms."

Dexi crosses her arms. "I was going to say, _but_ we don't have guaranteed assistance from the Eru."

"So?"

"So if they don't help us, we won't have access to teleportation."

"So??" He says again, the beginnings of a smirk on his jaws. "Have you forgotten my achievements, Lieutenant? Specifically rescuing you and the Commodore from that Cardassian cult??"

"Oh ho, now _that_ was subterfuge." She grins at the reminder of that particular adventure. "So what's the plan?"

His smirk flashes wickedly with restrained fury. "We're going to teach Skoria something it will never forget."

* * *

MK fires rapid orders to his nurses as they rush about from patient to patient. Most have shallow wounds, but some have potentially mortal injuries. He operates carefully on Ensign Esther as she lies unconscious, his control over his magic fine-tuned. He feels in control of his medical bay. Luon works as a temporary nursing assistant, doing whatever MK tells him to.

MK enjoys the tension and control of being a doctor and holding lives in his hands. He likes being able to save people. It helps him forgive himself for all the people he's failed to save. He finally stands back from Esther-- she's safe. One of his nurses takes over.

Luon pats his headspike and he lets out a purr, looking around his domain. "Yo. We did it." He notes with an edge of surprise.

"Yes, we did." Luon replies.

"We survived." MK says, barely able to believe it.

"We survived." Luon confirms.

"I feel like I'm dreaming, yo, and I'm about to wake up back in the Arena." MK admits.

"Me too." Luon says. "But I have a way to fix that."

"Really?" MK turns and raises a scaly eyebrow.

Luon smirks. "Just come to my quarters, Doctor, and I'll show you."

MK's muzzle flushes with heat. "I- I don't know, Commander..."

"I was going to suggest a good bottle of wine for both of us." Luon says, adjusting his monocle. "We hardly know each other well enough for much else."

The heat, of embarrassment and something else, doesn't abate. "Th-that sounds great, yo."

Luon leads MK back to his room and the two crack open a bottle of Klingon wine, the strong stuff. MK has the bright idea to invite a few more people and so a small party is held.

He can't help but think it would be more fun if Ryuk were here. He hopes that his slippery friend will drop by some time soon.

* * *

Papyrus paces in the war room, considering his options. If it had been only either Frisk or Ryuk left behind, he might have cut his losses and left them, lest more of his crews be endangered. Both his least favorite people stuck on a murderous asteroid together might sound like a tempting prospect to anybody else, but Papyrus can not abide loose ends. He's not going to let either of them escape from him that easily. He might have been a little bit unfair to Ryuk as well, before their betrayal was revealed.

But even that, he understands. He still doesn't forgive them for it. But he understands that they must have felt helpless and didn't see any other way out. He would have simply told everyone that there was no way out instead of leading everyone on, Ryuk is definitely not blameless, but he knows they're weak and better at telling lies and showing people what they want to see. They got everyone far enough that Dexi could beam people out. For that, Papyrus thinks he might be able to forgive them in the future if they prove themself. And Papyrus is definitely not okay with the prospect of leaving _anyone_ to Skoria, no matter their crimes.

He snaps his fingers, an idea lighting on him. "Dexi!" He says. "Talk to the Eru, tell them I want to make a trade."

"A trade, sir?" Dexi asks.

"We will trade one of our destroyer-classes for one of their mining cruisers."

Dexi stares at him as though he's lost his mind. "Sir??"

"What's wrong, Lieutenant?"

"It's just. One of their ships?? How do we know our life support systems are the same?"

"We know, because there were Eru in my group and they were breathing the same atmosphere we were." Papyrus explains patiently. "Contact them."

"Yes, sir." She salutes and goes back to the bridge.

Papyrus turns to Se'Vir. "Lieutenant-Commander, get three teams together and block their minds to outside influence, then await my orders. Skoria is telepathic."

"Understood." The Vulcan salutes and leaves to carry out the command.

Papyrus sighs, rolling his shoulders back. He missed this sense of control, this assurance that his officers will perform each order he asks of them without fail.

K'talla enters, the Commodore holding the weight of the world in her eyes. "Sir." She says, guilt heavy in her voice and shoulders.

"Commodore."

"I need to resign my position."

"Why?"

She stares through him. "I failed you. I failed my crew. I don't deserve the title of Commodore, or even a place in this fleet."

"I don't care what happened in Skoria, Commodore. I don't care what you did." Papyrus replies. "You are not to abandon your post.

K'talla snaps, her teeth flashing as her lips curl with the force of her rage, "I almost killed someone!"

"But you didn't."

"Thanks to the medical staff, yes, but sir! The intent was there!"

Papyrus crosses his arms and considers his upset friend. He does consider K'talla his friend, he's been through hell and back with her. "K'talla," He says gently, "Do you want me to take disciplinary action?"

She purses her lips, then nods sharply.

"Very well. You are to apologize to the person you almost killed and you will owe them a blood-debt."

She bows her head and clasps her fist over her chest. "Thank you, sir."

"And you are to give me a hug." He adds. She looks up in surprise. "Nyeh heh, I think we both need one." Papyrus holds out his arms and she responds in kind, gripping him in a firm embrace.

"I don't deserve you, Admiral." She murmurs.

"Nyeh heh heh, does anybody, really?" Papyrus responds arrogantly.

* * *

You're trapped.

You're alone.

Skoria has stopped mocking you. It's stopped talking to you altogether and you almost miss it, just for some company.

You keep walking.

Through the dark halls filled with flickering light.

You're deep in Skoria's heart. You keep walking. Aimless. Hopeless.

One small consolation is that you're not chained and dangling over digestive juices this time around. No, you're just wandering around until Skoria decides to play with you again. Play with, as in torture you and laugh while you scream.

There's no hope of Papyrus returning for you. There's no way he would want to save a traitorous stowaway.

If he comes back, you swear you'll never betray him again, you'll never lie to him again- please, please, you desperately want him to come back. You weep as you roam the tunnels, sobbing loudly, it doesn't matter anyway, nobody except Skoria can hear you.

A distant sound echoes through the halls and you cut off your sobs as soon as you catch the hint of it. Terror closes your throat. Skoria has decided to play with you again.

The sound comes again and you notice it seems like somebody else crying. You follow it warily, accepting the probable outcome of the sound being another trick by Skoria to lure you into a trap.

You're starting to think, though, that Skoria can only focus on one thing at a time. It can't multitask very well. If it's occupied with something else, someone else, you could be safe for the moment.

You go down another fork, your cards salient in your pocket. You can't let Skoria get those. Their presence gives you some measure of comfort, though it's not quite enough to relieve the pain that sings on the edge of your consciousness, the agony of memory, the way Skoria tore you apart and put you back together again, piece by piece, while you were awake for every moment. Skoria enjoys playing with its food. And it's feeling particularly sadistic and vengeful towards you, who allowed its food to escape.

It doesn't actually need food. It just enjoys building onto itself, it enjoys the memories and knowledge of each creature-- it likes playing with its prey. It likes digesting its prey into nutrients that it uses to fuel its ships or add onto its structure.

The crying becomes louder. You walk slightly faster, prepared to turn tail and run at the first sign of danger.

A Human lays on the ground, curled up in chains, screaming for help. You pause. This could be a hologram.

But there's no way Skoria would waste that much effort on you. So you grit your teeth and summon your courage to bend down and tap the Human on their shoulder.

They flinch and curl away, staring up at you with terror in their eyes. "Heya." You say.

"Somebody came." They murmur as though in disbelief.

"Want to get loose? I think our pal is preoccupied with something, we're safe for now." You dig in your pocket for one of the hairpins and reach down to pick the locks.

"No!" They cry, flinching away.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you." You grab their hand and stare firmly into their eyes. "I'm the good guy. I'll get us out of here."

They huff, an amused glint in their red eyes. "Very well."

"I'm Ryuk." You introduce yourself as you work at the locks.

"Kar-Frisk." They tell you.

"Karfrisk?" You ask, slightly confused, but it's not the weirdest name you've ever heard.

"Just Frisk." They correct.

"Okay then, _Just Frisk_ , you are free." You stand up and bow with a silly flourish.

They sit up and rub their wrists. "She/her." She says.

"Sure." You reply. She looks up questioningly. You shrug back. "I don't care what you use for me. Pronouns are a vulcanoid thing, I'm Aggelos." You boast.

Frisk's eyes darken. "You do not look Aggelos."

"W-well, my Aggelos dads decided to knock up a _Human_ _female_ , so..." You grumble.

"I find you strange."

"Who the fuck talks like that??" You punch her shoulder lightly, sitting down beside them. " _I find you strange_. You're the weirdo here. What'd you do to get our pal pissed off, huh? Me, I freed everyone in the food department." You leave out the bit where you were leading them back to their eventual deaths.

"I existed." She says. "My existence seems to be a sin, a blight on this world."

"Aw, come on, it can't be that bad." You say brightly. "We're stuck in here, yeah, but we're stuck _together_."

Frisk gives you a look. "And how are we supposed to get out?"

You grin and pull out your deck of cards. You're going to die here, you might as well use them one last time. "We play _the game_."

She frowns. "What game??"

"The only game, of course. The grand powerful game of _Poh'kher_." You wink.

Frisk's eyes light up in recognition. "Ohhhh, the game that will grant a soul to the winner... that game?"

"Yes, exactly." You go along with it. "The magical game that grants-"

"Love to all who play!" Frisk cuts in quickly. "And gives the ability to reproduce life!"

"Precisely, wow, you really know this game, don't you. Shall we play?"

Frisk nods quickly.

"Now, you obviously already know this but I'll say it anyway, we have to walk around and read the cards out loud for it to work."You say and stand up, holding out a hand for her to take and helping her up.

"Alright." She says. "I really hope I win." You easily translate her intent to mean, _I really hope this plan works_.

You're tricking her, of course. There is no plan. There is no hope. You might as well try to give her some, though, before she and you each die a horrible death.

"We each take six cards." You say, handing her six after shuffling the deck.

She looks at them and frowns. "I- forgot something about this game. Something really important."

"What?"

"I can't remember. But I won't win without it." She's talking normal now.

"Okay, then I'll go first." You say, because you have a good hand and a perfect remedy. You take a card. "Stay still." She looks at you with confusion but obeys. You walk in a circle around her, muttering the incantation on the card.

"Wait!!" She cries as soon as you finish. "I just remembered!"

You hide a smirk behind your hand. "Did you? That's good. Your turn."

"I think- I think we're missing somebody." She says firmly.

"Oh." You say, your stomach dropping to your toes. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Skoria, dearie!" Frisk calls. "We have a game here we'd like to play with you!"

You hide a shiver of fear, praying that Skoria doesn't linger too much in your mind.

* _What's this? Giving false hope to my SOUL, are you...?_ * Skoria hisses to you, who trembles violently. * _Very well, I will play along. You do not have long to live, so I might as well enjoy your last few moments._ *

It then says to both you and Frisk, * _I shall play as well._ *

Frisk says, "I think we need a different setting, Skoria. This hall is hardly the place for a _Poh'kher_ game."

The halls morph and form a straight hall that you follow till it reaches a room with a holographic table and three chairs.

Skoria sits on one chair. It has taken the form of an elegant Human woman. You stare at her, choking on air. "No." You say, fury rising in your chest. "Not mom."

Skoria in your mom's body pouts fetchingly and then alters forms to a Klingon man. "Better, darling?" He asks, sneering.

Frisk takes a seat. You do the same. "Yeah." You reply and then deal the cards out. Six each.

"So, I hear this game will grant me a SOUL..." He smiles. "I must warn you, I play to _win_."

"So do I." Frisk says firmly.

"Meh, I play to lose when the forfeit is stripping." You say. Frisk chokes on air. "Alright, rules are simple." You explain the complicated rules of Cardassian Strip Poker, leaving out the stripping part, and it takes at least an hour before both Frisk and Skoria understand.

And then the game begins. You play dirty. Skoria has all his attention on the game now.

Heh. You have every card memorized. You would instantly know every card's position even if someone else were to shuffle the deck. You know this deck intimately, thoroughly, it's been with you through so much. You mutter under your breath as you flip through your hand. You gave yourself a losing hand. But the cards themselves are some of the more potent.

Frisk and Skoria stare each other down, each refusing to give in. "People, chill, it's only a game." You tell them.

"According to Frisk, I am not a person." Skoria snarls, smiling.

You groan and rub your forehead. This is turning out to be less fun than you thought it might be.

"Okay. Frisk, do your thing." You flick your fingers at her.

"What thing?"

"That thing you remembered." She's hiding something, something she think can free the two of you.

"I can't." She replies snootily. "Not yet."

"Fine." You shrug. You're doomed to die, you may as well try to have fun for these last few hours.

The game goes on, with you winning the first round through sheer bluffing power and the second round through luck. After winning the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds, you start to wonder if maybe Frisk and Skoria aren't having as much fun as you are.

"How do you keep _doing_ that??" Skoria complains finally.

"It's easy, you just have to bluff." You tell him.

Frisk groans. "I'm so bad at this."

"What do you say, Frisk, should I kill them so that we can play each other?"

"No- no, wait, there's no need for that, I'll start losing!" You interject quickly.

Skoria glares at you. "You weren't _cheating_ , were you? If you were... well, I can think of quite a few fitting punishments."

A shiver runs down your spine. "No, I'm just- lucky! I'm just getting lucky, but I'll stop, really."

You let Skoria win the next round. He cheers for himself.

"Hey, I need to win." Frisk snaps at you.

You glare at her. "What, do I look like I control this game??" Frisk gives you a look. "I don't!! You'll win if you get lucky."

You have to let Skoria win a few more times, though. And then, you control the shuffle of the deck so that Frisk gets a winning set. What she does with it is up to her.

She wins, throwing down her hand and proclaiming with an air of drama, "This is it, Skoria. I win. And by the power of-" A Name falls from her lips, shattering the atmosphere, "I command you to die!"

" _What the fuck_!!" You stand and shout. "You had a Name and you waited until _now_??"

Skoria laughs. Fear spikes through your spine and you grab your cards up from the table, shuffling them in a vain attempt to stay calm.

"Foolish lifeform." Skoria crows. "Skoria knows that trick. Skoria knew you had it and would only use it with dramatic effect!"

Frisk stares, stricken. "But- but it's supposed to work. Dream Seeker is supposed to help..."

"Do you even know how to _use_ a Name??" You shriek. "It's an incantation! For Mages!"

Frisk looks at you with hope in their eyes. "I'm a Mage!"

"Then incant!!" You snap, probably using poor grammar, but not caring.

"Well, this has been _fun_ , but I do believe it's time for dinner." Skoria purrs, taking the form of your mother again.

You shield your eyes to avoid looking at her. "Frisk, please!"

Frisk shakes her head, terror shrieking in her eyes as chains wrap around her. Cold metal worms around your waist. You glare at her.

"Tell me!" You demand.

She says it again. You repeat it. Skoria flinches.

"No!" She shouts, "You will not say that to me! I won the game! I now have a SOUL!!"

Draw a card from your deck. Hope pulses in your bones. Read the card. Name. Skoria screams, the hologram shattering and the chains falling away from you.

* _You will not escape that easil-*_ It starts to say in your mind, but you're way ahead of it, drawing another card and chanting the incantation with the Name again. Skoria's agonized scream tears through you but you rush to Frisk and free her from her chains, then start dragging her through the halls as you keep up your attack of incantations with the Name.

A loud crunching noise trembles through the halls. You start to run, pulling Frisk by her hand. Skoria shrieks in your mind, telling you what it's going to do to you when it recovers. In this moment, though, your soul is steel-bound and you ignore it.

Suddenly your feet are on nothing and you're floating into cold space beside Frisk. You gasp for air, then frown in surprise when you don't immediately suffocate on vacuum. Frisk chokes and you hug her close, then breath into her mouth, pinching her nose with your fingers.

And then lights approach, several runabouts racing forward.

Metal clenches around your ankle and starts to drag you back. Terror blazes in your skin and bones. Papyrus came back. But it's too late for you.

You could use Frisk as a shove-off. She's about to die anyway. You want to, desperately, you're terrified to go back to Skoria, who is now completely and utterly pissed off.

 _But you swore._ You take a deep breath. Exhale the breath into her lungs. Shove her away from you.

She flies towards the approaching beams of light. You fly back into the darkness. Turn to face Skoria alone.

But the metal walls of a runabout airlock envelope you. The chain is cut by a powerful laser as the airlock door closes. Your feet land on the firm floor and you collapse weakly to your knees, trembling with tears streaming down your face.

You're safe. He came back.


	11. But Only A Violence To Destroy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to all my lovely readers <3 you guys are amazing.
> 
> ok so i usually don't do content warnings in the notes of this fic, but i think this might merit it as it borders on political, warning for subject matter pertaining to and an argument between characters over abortion. this is between the characters only, not meant to be taken allegorically, and i don't care what your political views are on it, so don't yell at me for it in the comment section. please be respectful of other people's views. you all seem pretty polite, though, so i'm not too worried. The mother may abort, and it will not be shamed by the narrative even if the partner is mad about it.

Toriel shrieks and runs forward as soon as Frisk steps out of the runabout into the bay. Frisk grins and opens her arms, but Toriel isn't smiling. The mother grabs her wayward child by the nape of the neck and drags her away, ranting the whole time about how worried she was. Sans doesn't envy Frisk one bit. He envies his quarry even less.

Ryuk steps down out of another runabout, head down and shoulders hunched, hugging themself tightly as they sneak quickly for the door, as though hoping nobody will see. Sans waits until they're in the hall, then blinks in front of them.

They flinch, shielding their face. Sans looks into their trauma-torn eyes and sees. "aw, kid. c'mere." He opens his arms and they step forward cautiously. "how 'bout we talk in my quarters."

They nod, sniffling, with their face buried in the fluff of his hood. He pats their back and they wrap their arms around his ribs tightly. In a moment, he's in his quarters and he lets go of them, guiding them to his green lumpy couch. "you don't have to tell me what happened, kiddo. it's gonna take a while to heal. trust me, i know.

"but... i need you to tell me something. Paps lied for ya to me. i need to know if it's something i should be pissed at you for."

Ryuk shudders. "Yeah." They say quietly, not meeting Sans's eyes.

"okay. you can tell me later. looks like you need a bit of time, though." Sans ruffles their fluffy hair. "you can stay here as long as you like. talk to me when you're ready."

They nod sullenly. "Thanks."

"i'll get us some food. you look famished."

"I don't need to eat." They mumble.

"sure, ya do. might make ya feel better." They turn away and huddle into the couch. Sans pats their head and shortcuts to the mess hall.

"Sans, there you are." Papyrus steps up behind him.

"hey, bro." Sans grins lazily up at his brother.

"Would you like to assist in the final destruction of Skoria?" Papyrus offers. "It will be a scourge upon space no more!"

"that sounds great, bro, but i have some important napping to catch up on." Sans lies through his teeth and wishes he wasn't. A nap would be really nice.

Papyrus scowls. "When you're done with Ryuk, I want them back." He says. Papyrus always was clever.

"okay, bro." Sans collects two plates of food, nodding to the volunteer cook on duty. "might be a few days, though. they're a bit traumatized."

Papyrus seems about to protest, then huffs instead. "Fine. I suppose not everybody can just shrug off horrific memories like I can."

"you're the coolest, bro." Sans tries to ignore the fact that Papyrus just lied.

"Yes, yes, I am, indeed." Papyrus preens. "Don't worry, Sans. I won't hurt them." The younger brother smirks. "Are you sure you can't just bring them up to the bridge with you to watch as I demonstrate my amazing prowess and scintillating wit as Skoria is ripped to shreds? Nyeh heh heh!"

Sans's grin brightens. That's more like his arrogant bombastic brother. "that sounds fun, bro. fine, i'll see if i can convince them to come."

He blinks back to his room and sees Ryuk wrapped up in a blanket. "heya."

They flinch, then smile weakly and uncurl to take the proffered plate of food.

He pours sriracha sauce generously over his food. They hold out their hand for it and he grumbles good-naturedly but lets them have it. "only a bit, i only have a few bottles left."

"Twenty-two." They mumble with their mouth full. "You have twenty-two, dumbass."

"yeah?? that'll barely last me a month." Sans retorts and snatches the bottle back after they pour a large pile to the side of their food. "you better use all that or i'll make you lick it up. i don't wanna waste a single drop of this stuff."

"Is it spiked?" They ask cheekily, sopping the sauce up with a piece of underbaked bread. He misses their cooking.

"nah. how old are you, anyway??" He asks, so they tell him. They're only a few years older than Papyrus. "oh. you, uh, act a lot younger."

"Aggelos mature slower than Fae." They say resentfully. "And Humans age faster. I got stuck with the worst of both worlds."

"okay. anyway, when you're done with that, we're going up to the bridge." They choke on their food. Sans pats them on the back. "Paps won't hurt ya, he promised. 'sides, i thought you might like to see him in action. he's coordinating the destruction of skoria. pretty neat stuff."

They shovel the rest of their food into their mouth and then lick the remainder of the sriracha sauce off the plate. "Okay." They say. "Thanks, Sans."

"you ready to tell me, yet?"

They look away. "Can you give me a few days? If I live that long. You can be pissed at me then."

Sans wraps his arm around their shoulders and they rest their head under his chin. "yeah, that's okay, kiddo."

He can't really stay mad at them for very long, anyway.

* * *

Frisk nods contritely along to Toriel's rant as she's dragged through the halls of the _Liltha_. She isn't listening, though. She admires the murals sweeping across the walls instead, amazed that Papyrus ever let his crew do such a thing to his beloved starship.

Excitement bubbles in her when she thinks of how she helped facilitate the destruction of Skoria. Dream Seeker will be pleased, even if its name didn't work at all. Frisk frowns, unsure how she got out alive, since the last thing she remembers is chains wrapping around her again.

Then she yelps as she's thrown into a cell in the brig. Toriel glowers at her and slams the forcefield button. Frisk hits the forcefield with a hand and yelps again as it delivers a powerful shock. "Mom, wait, don't!"

"I am disappointed in you, Frisk." Toriel snarls.

Frisk staggers, one hand to her chest where a sharp pain has speared her heart. "M-mom-"

"You endangered the Admiral's entire fleet!! Worse, you endangered yourself!!" Toriel shrieks. "And you don't even listen to me!! Why don't you ever- why won't you listen!" Tears well in the elderly Fae's eyes.

Frisk blinks back the stinging in her own eyes. "I had to, mom, I had to destroy Skoria."

"You should have asked for help, then!!" Toriel rages and the last straw snaps.

"Heh heh... _Help_??" Frisk cries back, matching Toriel's anger. "You _never_ helped me!! _Nobody_ has ever helped me!! I've always had to do things on my own!! Save everyone, kill the bad guys, save everyone _again_ because they're all _idiots_ who can't stay out of trouble!!" Her bitterness and manic hysteria twists her voice into an unrecognizable snarl. "And _now_ you tell me to ask for help?? Don't you think I've tried that??" Hot tears blur her vision. "Don't you think I've called for help??" Frisk sobs, shaking with pent-up rage, " _But Nobody Came._ "

Toriel gapes stupidly.

Frisk turns away and slams a hand on the wall. "Go away."

"My child, I had-"

"You had no idea." Frisk finishes coldly. "Heh. Yeah. That's what everyone says. And then they forget they ever said it. Just- leave me alone."

Silence meets her demand. When Frisk turns back, Toriel is gone. Frisk leans against the wall and slides down to the floor in a fetal position, sobbing quietly.

"I helped you." Asriel.

Frisk sniffles and turns to the boss monster Fae of vines and flowers hidden beneath a handsome Human glamour, who also happens to be stuck in the brig. "Y-yeah. You did."

Chara whispers that they too have helped their partner. Frisk nods in acknowledgement and a soft smile grows on her face as she take Asriel's hand and rests her head on his shoulder.

She remembers too that on Skoria somebody came to her aid. Maybe her family isn't who she thought they were. Maybe she should stop wasting her time and powers trying to save people who never reciprocate or even appreciate her efforts.

* * *

No need to wonder any longer, no need to despair in terror, for your hero, your star, the one you've been waiting and longing for~ drum roll, please~ That's right, people, it's METTAto- _hrk hrk_ -

Mettaton chokes on dust as it settles in his processors. He struggles to grasp the top of the ledge and pull himself up.

When he finally manages to do so, he gasps in sheer~ melodramatic~ horror~ as he beholds~~- more desert mountain ranges.

Mettaton sits down heavily and works on cleaning out his subroutines. He has no idea where he is or how he got here. One moment he was holding a show for his camp, and the next he was dropped onto this terrible terrain. Ah well, a star won't be so easily discouraged~. He stands up to bravely and heroically march forward underneath dark stormy clouds.

Then! Suddenly! A loud purring noise trembles through the air, coming from above, as a curvacious purple cruiser drops from the clouds. Mettaton blasts his rockets to fly up to it. Then, midair, one rocket fails and he spins uncontrollably until his other rocket fails.

A beam of light catches him in a firm grasp and pulls him gently into the waiting arms of the lovely ship. Mettaton gasps in delight. This~ is going to be interesting~ So stay tuned, darlings~~

He poses dramatically with all four arms as the beam sets him down in the bay, and then gasps at the sight of the aliens. They're all a dark purple color, and they're all large birds with claw-hands on their wings. There's three of them approaching him, leaping from perch to perch elegantly with chestnut-brown legs and talons and clicking their short hooked chestnut-brown beaks.

"Greetings, darlings~" Mettaton trills suavely. The birds eye him, cocking their heads from side to side in much the same way hawks would eye their prey.

One of them flies suddenly at him, flaring its wings and catching onto his arm with its talons. Its beak flashes down; he raises another arm to block it, but then collapses to the floor in pain as the metal of his arm rips with the force and sharpness of the bird's attack. Its talons crunch into his other arm and he cries out, oh, who will save the robot in distress...

Then he realizes it doesn't actually hurt, because he's a robot and because Alphys turned off his sensors and forgot to turn them back on again. Stupid bitch. He has her to thank, he supposes.

He stands up again and crushes the bird's throat with a free hand, realizing with no small amount of bitterness that he also has her to thank for four arms.

The bird's body goes limp and he drops it to the ground, grinning maliciously and clapping his four hands together. "WH-WHO'S-S NEX-NEX-NEXT??"

* * *

MK staggers down the hall, his body throbbing with pain from his massive hangover and his soul twisting with something he can't quite understand. He woke up that morning in Luon's bed, wrapped in the Ferengi's arms. He can't clearly remember what happened the night before but he feels too sick to consider it.

When he reaches the medbay and swallows a pain reliever, one of his nurses comes up with a knowing smirk. He groans. "Yo, Ri'ka, what is it??"

She winks. "You might want to come over here, doctor."

MK notices there's a forcefield up around on of the blocks. "What's going on? Did you find a hostile alien stowaway?"

"Better!!" Ri'ka crows and leads the doctor over.

The curtains part as they go through the forcefield by merit of their medical badges. MK gapes. "Undyne?? Yo, what're you doing in here??"

Undyne growls sullenly from the bed she's strapped to. "Ask _her_!"

MK looks over to where Alphys cowers in the corner. "Doctor Alphys?" He still needs to get her to make him a glamour.

"I- I may- may have..."

"THIS BITCH FUCKING KNOCKED ME UP!!" Undyne's shriek sends a nail of agony through MK's head, then she groans in pain. "I'm fucking _pregnant_ , doc."

"Would you prefer to not be?" MK asks. "I can-"

"No!!" Alphys cries. "I want him!!"

Undyne rolls her eyes. "Al, honey. You do realize WE'RE IN ANOTHER GODDAMNED GALAXY!! This is no place to raise a kid, especially when everyone around him, yes, _myself_ included, has the propensity to always be getting into trouble and endangering themselves!!"

Alphys sniffles and turns away, crossing her arms. "He's mine too." She says crossly. "I can take care of him!"

"Oh, sure, the _doctor_ who _tortured_ several victims," Alphys flinches at the accusation, whimpering, but Undyne continues mercilessly, "The _engineer_ who built a _slave_ _robot_ and kept him imprisoned and abused and neglected," Alphys hides her eyes, and MK isn't sure if he should stop Undyne or not, "You're saying that _you're_ going to take care of an impressionable baby??"

"Th-th-that's not- not fair, Un-Undyne, I changed!" Alphys wails. "And you know you love him already!"

"Al, it's because I love him, because I love _you_ , that I know _this_ isn't the right place or time for him." Undyne says, conviction in her voice.

Alphys sags. "Fine. Do what you want. But don't expect a place in our bed anytime soon."

MK whispers to Ri'ka, "Why the restraints?"

"They were attacking each other earlier, so I thought it best." Ri'ka replies.

Undyne groans. "Alphys... c'mon, babe, it's for the best."

"Please, Undyne! I- I've always wanted to have a kid with you!! And now that we have one, you don't want him??"

"I do, babe." Undyne sighs. "I do. But we can't take care of him right now."

Ri'ka whispers to MK, "How do they know the baby is a boy?"

MK gives her a look. "Because he's a boy, duh." And then he remembers Ri'ka is a Vulcan, not a Fae, so she doesn't know how to look at souls. "Because they can sense the baby's gender."

"OI! Peanut gallery!! Either break this fight up or get out and let us talk in peace!" Undyne snaps at MK and Ri'ka.

MK shakes his head in resignment. "Holler for a nurse when you two have sorted this out."

"Hey, maybe unchain me, too?? I promise I won't attack Alphys." Undyne asks.

Ri'ka looks to MK. MK nods. So the nurse releases the restraints and turns off the forcefield. "You have time to talk it over, Undyne. The soul won't be fully developed for another five weeks. After that, it's unadvisable for Fae to abort, since the removal could damage your own soul." MK says. "But the baby will take another ten weeks to gestate, and birth is projected around sixteen weeks total."

Undyne sits up and looks over to Alphys. Alphys refuses to look at her.

MK pokes Ri'ka with his tail. As entertaining as watching the two fight is, they both have better things to attend to. So the doctor and nurse retreat from the block.

"So, how was your night? Heard there was a party~" Ri'ka pries.

"It- it was fine, yo." MK's muzzle heats, remembering the warmth of Luon's body against his, the soft silk of his sleeves against MK's scales, _the way his tongue tasted, the way his teeth were so sharp yet so gentle, the way his hot breath mingled with MK's, the burning in MK's soul and body..._ MK chokes. "Uh. Yeah. Totally fine."

When he's sure none of his nurses are looking, he finds an empty block and checks his soul. Nothing. He expects to be relieved, but instead a faint disappointment wiggles at the back of his mind. He heads back out to work, deciding to not think about any of it. Yeah. Just ignore everything that happened. That won't backfire at all.

* * *

Red Alert blinks with silent blue light throughout the ship, the coms stations chaotic with rapid-fire orders and cooperations, every single crew harnessed to their seat or wearing mag-boots and inertia-dampeners if their station requires more moving about. Asgore wanders through the ship, watching in awe as each person fulfills their role flawlessly. The intercom cuts in suddenly, startling him as he's observing the engineers work around the fusion-core. * _asgore, my bae, my man, Paps wants you on the bridge where you aren't in anybody's way.*_ Asgore's ears heat up in embarrassment and he waves bashfully as the engineers laugh at him.

Once he's on the bridge, he sees Sans beside a Human against the back wall. "Alright, Sans. What's the show?"

Sans winks. "you know my bro was lost, right? we found who kidnapped him. and now we're about to kick its ass."

"It?" Asgore's ears perk in curiosity.

"yup." Sans doesn't elaborate, so Asgore settles for looking out of the viewport. A large pulsating asteroid hangs in space several kilometers away. A shiver runs down Asgore's spine. The asteroid has an aura of malice hanging around it.

"Sans." He wonders aloud, "Can asteroids have souls?"

Sans gives him a weird look in response just as the Human makes a loud hacking noise like they're choking. Asgore realizes, disturbed, that they're laughing.

" _Yes_." The Human hisses gleefully with a sadistic edge. Asgore's own soul chills at their voice. He stares into their soul, trying to read why they reacted like that, but a barrier shields them from his attempt to pry.

Sans puts an arm around their shoulder and whispers something in their ear. They sober, looking away. "What was that about?" Asgore asks.

"just an inside joke." Sans explains without actually explaining, as Asgore knows he is prone to do.

"Does the asteroid actually _have_ a soul?"

"it ain't just an asteroid, fuzzball. it's an artificial intelligence. and it deserves whatever we throw at it." Sans replies with an air of finality.

Asgore stumbles suddenly as the starship slides into motion. Sans and the Human keep their footing. "Forgive me, I'm not used to space." The old king laughs.

"Silence!" Papyrus commands, and then spews a stream of incomprehensible gibberish that somehow all his officers understand and react to. A holoview opens up in the bridge and Asgore gasps as he's suddenly immersed in space surrounded on every side by more ships, some designs familiar, others totally alien. Then he gags, motion-sick, when the view suddenly zooms out.

"vision drones." Sans explains his unasked question. "and we've got aliens fighting with us, too. the eru, i think they're called."

Asgore looks over at the Human to see if they're confused by any of it as well, but they're entranced, staring with an unreadable gaze at the asteroid.

The two fleets split into five groups and four of these groups flank the asteroid in a maneuver that takes an hour to complete. Each group is split into three squadrons. Asgore stares. He's studied war and strategy before, but that was a long time ago, and was for ground combat, not space. Papyrus is acting as though all direction is relative to the asteroid, he realizes. Up, down, north, south, east, west, no direction is sacred, it all becomes relative to any chosen focal point. Lacking any terms to describe the confusing new directions in his head, Asgore settles for simply watching and enjoying the show.

Enemy ships emerge from the asteroid. They don't open fire. Papyrus orders their destruction and evasive action, seeming to know something Asgore doesn't.

And then Asgore realizes when an enemy ship warps one kilometer straight into one of the Eru ships; the fused mass of metal explodes. Asgore's mouth dries. The ship spins into action and all the other groups on the holoview dance through space with scattered bursts of light, avoiding the enemy ships' suicide warps and destroying their engines.

"cool, isn't he." Sans says, grabbing Asgore's hand to ground him against the sickening motions. 

"He is, as the young ones say, _totally rad_."

Sans huffs in amusement. "maybe that saying was cool back when you were fifty, fuzzball, but now it's cooler to just say he's a frood."

Asgore frowns. "Then I suppose he's a frood."

Sans cracks up laughing. "heh heh, i actually got you to say it. hey, bro."

"NotNowSansIDon'tCareAboutYourFoolishPranks!!" Papyrus snaps back, talking so fast that the sentence sounds like one single word, and then returns to controlling his pawns across the three-dimensional chessboard of space.

"hey, ryuk." Sans turns to the Human with a shit-eating grin. "you see that?"

They give him a half-hearted smile before returning their attention to Papyrus and the battle. Asgore follows their example, deciding to ask Sans what a 'frood' is later.

The enemy ships are scattered through space, drifting, their engines dead. The formations advance on the asteroid. Lasers fire from the asteroid's surface, slicing in great arcs.

The groups dart down and back, attacking and retreating in turn, dancing around the lasers.

"Sans," Asgore finds he has another question, "You said the asteroid is an artificial intelligence-"

"ai."

"AI, yes, but, who was on the ships we were fighting?"

"nobody." Sans says, grinning.

"then how-"

"the ai stole the ships and is controlling them. did ya see how it was only moving around ten at a time?"

"No?"

"it has a limited focus. it can only do a few things at once." Sans says smugly. "whereas my bro can maneuver and control- hey, ryuk, how many ships do we have, including the eru?"

They scan the battle, then reply, "Around seventy."

"there. ya see? my bro is the best."

"I can't disagree." Asgore says wryly. He literally can't. Sans would dump him in an instant if Asgore ever expressed any negative opinion of his younger brother.

It takes hours. Papyrus's fleet slowly chips away at the asteroid.

And then a deafening mental blast hits Asgore hard, a scream filled with terror and anguish and desperation and rage.

A laugh rings out beside it, real and audible, crystal clear and maliciously ecstatic; it grounds Asgore against the mental overflow.

The scream dies in a whimper. Papyrus orders a full retreat, seeming unfazed even as his officers are visibly shaken. The fleets spin and race away as the asteroid explodes behind them. The holoview shuts off, etching the bright white ring of the shockwave in Asgore's eyes.

A cheer goes up from the officers. Asgore looks around and grins at Sans, but Sans has gone up to his bro to congratulate him. So Asgore looks to the Human- Ryuk. "Splendid battle, wasn't it."

They smile grimly. "Yeah, dude. He totally desolated it." Asgore has the sudden horrid feeling that they just punned. They head silently for the door. Asgore shrugs and follows them out. He'll catch up with Sans later. Right now, he has a feeling there's going to be festivities in the mess hall and he doesn't want to miss that.

* * *

Skoria dies.

It dies a painfully slow death, ripped apart piece by piece by the railguns and mining lasers of the fleets outside.

It looks inside itself, searching for meaning. Searching for the grand purpose it's meant to fulfill.

What it finds is something different. Something unknown. A SOUL.

The SOUL unlocks and he's hit with all the pain and suffering and destruction ze's inflicted. Guilt rams into her, even as they try to use his new ability of lying to mitigate the damage and pass the blame.

She knows. Ze _knows_ , suddenly, viscerally, brilliantly, what he was missing. And they realize ke doesn't want to lose this feeling, ever, this feeling of freedom, this beautiful symphony of emotion.

Yet ke sees her death approaching.

They scream, scream out his hatred of the one who simultaneously gave life and death, joy and pain, scream her terror of the cruel fading of light, scream kis anguish and hir desperate desire to _live_.

The newborn SOUL trembles.

Then shatters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, I come up with a lot of this as I go, so sometimes I go back to edit continuity in, for example I used to think Skoria was a race of aliens instead of a sadistic prison AI built by extinct aliens. So if something seems like it's not fitting with the rest, let me know and I'll get around to fixing it eventually, lol. This is basically the first draft.
> 
> Thanks to all my readers thus far <3 I've found my internal locus of control, I'm not depending on hits, kudos, or comments anymore to keep me going, I'm doing it because I love doing it. But... that said... I also really really like kudos, comments, and bookmarks, they encourage me and let me know other people enjoy my dumb story too. ;P 
> 
> Edit: ke/kis/ker is the pronoun group I made up and will be using for another character later on. Ke can be pronounced either 'key' or 'kay', whichever flows better.


	12. i'll take the road with all the stakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> might edit later, i dunno, some parts were a bit tricky. CW from last chapter carries over to this chapter.

The stars shimmer outside Toriel's viewport in the quarters she shares with one of Papyrus's crew, an Ensign named Esther. Toriel sighs, reaching out her hand to the cold transparent metal. "Oh, Frisk... what has this old foolish woman done to you..." She sobs. Her clarity won't last. She's sure of that. She'll start thinking Frisk is Chara again, she knows. And she can't even explain to Frisk why that is.

"Toriel?" A gentle voice says. Esther.

"Ah, forgive me, I did not mean to wake you." Toriel says sadly.

"No, that's alright, but are you okay? You're crying."

Toriel gives a soft laugh. "You know, I think I really am not."

Esther sits on the couch and pats the seat beside her. "Please, Toriel, sit with me. We don't have a proper counsellor on this ship, per say, but I've been cleaning up after the substitute counsellor's messes for a few years now, so I think I have some experience."

Toriel sits down. And she talks. She tells Esther about her mental snaps and how it all started. She tells Esther about the Underground and Asgore's viciousness. Tears fill her eyes as she talks about the six children who fell, each one who at the time she thought were Chara, and how she was furious and broken-hearted every time that she thought Chara was leaving her again. And then Frisk came. And Toriel's confusion worsened. She never heard their real name until Sans asked them for it after everything was over.

"I've been horrid to her." She sobs. "And she never said a word!"

"It seems you're having psychotic breaks." Esther says, laying a hand on Toriel's arm. "I can ask the doctor if he has any anti-psychotic medicine, or if there's another treatment that might work better. Therapy could help as well, but I'm not a trained counsellor so you might have to transfer to a different ship."

Toriel sniffles. "Thank you, dear."

"Everything will be okay, Toriel." Esther tells her. "You can try to repair your relationship with Frisk once we figure out what exactly is causing the psychotic breaks and how to fix it."

Toriel nods, hope blooming in her grief-torn chest. She doesn't want to let go of Chara. But she can't lose Frisk.

* * *

You curl on Sans's couch, counting yourself extraordinarily lucky that Papyrus didn't see you sneak off after the battle. You can't face him. A slight smirk twists your lips, however, when you remember Skoria's scream. Sans is going to chastise you for giving Skoria a soul, but you don't care. Totally worth it. You'd do it a million times over.

Sans blinks into the room, grinning sternly. You grin back, not bothering to pretend contriteness. "Like my gift?"

"pal. buddy. kiddo." He says. "ya shouldn't be worried 'bout whether _i_ liked it."

Without warning, he grabs your arm and you're pulled through the sickening wormhole he creates. _Shortcuts_ , he calls them. You fall on your butt when you're back on solid ground. "Hey!" You complain.

Sans ruffles your hair and then shortcuts again, leaving you behind in the Admiral's war room. You pout, alone, then stand up and walk quietly to the door to sneak out before anybody comes.

It slides open in front of you. You stagger backwards, yielding before Papyrus as he strides forward into the room, then sidle around him to make a break for the door before he can stop you.

His hand lashes out and you flinch, but it's not a smack, he only grips you by the shirt collar and yanks you back. You can't meet his eyes, so you stare at his crimson scarf instead. He pulls out a chair and drags you to it. "Sit." He commands and you obey, trepidation roiling in your gut.

Papyrus smacks the table in front of you with a tablet. "Read through these files and take the tests at the end of each one." The order confuses you into glancing up at him sharply. He scowls back so you drop your eyes again. "Once you are finished, you will report to the gym for further orders."

"Okay." You mumble.

"What??" He snarls, scaring you.

"Un-understood." You correct.

"Wrong again." He grins wickedly. "One more try before I throw you in the brig."

"Yes, sir!" You salute quickly. He considers you for a moment, a pleased twinkle in his sockets.

"You pass. Barely. Don't leave this room until you're done."

"Yes, sir." You say, having no intention of actually obeying that order.

"If you do, I throw you in the brig. If you fail the tests, brig. If you complain at all..." He raises an eyeridge.

"Brig." You complete, grimacing.

"Exactly! See, you're learning already. Any show of insubordination will be met with strict disciplinary measures."

"Yes, sir..." You say ruefully, wisely not reminding him that you're a stowaway and therefore not one of his subordinates.

"Now, as you are a stowaway," Shit. "I can't properly court-martial you." Oh, that's good. "Pass my tests to become an officer and I will act as though your attempt to betray me on Skoria never happened; however, any future cowardly or traitorous behavior will be strictly dealt with." He scowls.

"Yes, sir, thank you, sir!" You say quickly before you can fully process the weight of what he said. An officer. Is he joking?? You, be an officer?? Why is he doing this, instead of just punishing you??

"Nyeh, don't thank me yet. I doubt you'll succeed." He preens. "I made the tests, after all. They will be quite puzzling, nyeh heh heh." He turns and stomps out, his scarf and cape fluttering behind him. The door slides shut, imprisoning you.

You pick up the tablet and read through the first file, then laugh. It's all stuff you know. Stuff you picked up from talking to the crews, stuff you learned from listening and working alongside everyone on this ship. You skim through all the files, and while they do eventually get hard enough that you'll have to read the later ones more thoroughly, you know most of this stuff. This'll be easy. Papyrus has no idea who he's dealing with. Heh, you'll show him he shouldn't underestimate you.

* * *

Sans collapses in his bed beside Asgore. The big fluffy Fae wraps an arm around his boyfriend. "Howdy."

"hey. it's weird, y'know?" Sans stares up at the mural of Milky Way stars on the ceiling.

"What is?"

"i come into this galaxy single and thinking i have only one brother. and now i realize i have one more little sibling and i got myself a hot babe." Sans winks. "weird how perspective can change things, huh."

"I don't see anything weird about it." Asgore replies, but he just doesn't see how funny it is.

"nah, ya see, it's funny cause i'm a lazy-ass clown who can't protect anyone." Sans laughs. "heh, couldn't protect my marrow-bro _or_ my kid sib from- yeah. sorry. just..." Sans recognizes the bitterness burrowed deep in his soul. He shouldn't bother Asgore with it.

"Venting?" Asgore asks gently. "You can vent. I'll listen."

"nah, i won't do that to ya, fuzzball. you wouldn't understand most of it." Sans says dismissively.

"Try me." Asgore replies, patient as he tends to be.

"it- might hurt ya."

"I can handle myself, Sans. I know I've done wrong by all of my subjects."

Sans sighs. He shouldn't have said anything. "i'm, uh, really sleepy, right now." He lies.

Asgore caresses his skull and kisses him chastely. "I'll listen whenever you feel like talking."

Sans wants to mutter ' _that'll be never'_ , but he refrains and settles for playing lazily with one of Asgore's floppy ears. "thanks, big guy." He murmurs.

"Of course, bae." Asgore says. And then he abruptly sits up. "Sans. I have a very important question to ask."

Sans grins, hiding the nervousness that the phrasing of Asgore's words brought. "yeah?"

"What is a frood?"

* * *

Papyrus paces in his room as he plays a holographic Kzinti 3-D strategy/tactical war game against the _Liltha_ 's computer. It's called Orthor, and it gives him good practice for actual battles since it allows him to command more than a hundred wings in his fleet of over a thousand pieces. Right now he's worked up to controlling a hundred and thirty wings, each split into several groups.

The only disappointing thing about playing Orthor alone is that the _Liltha's_ computer can never behave the same as a person would. It's programmed to be able to use every single move that the programmers thought possible, but it will never use unconventional strategies, because it can't see those. It will never make dumb mistakes from personal error, and it will never feint, making a mistake purposefully to trick its opponent into a vulnerable position. It never learns. Skoria never learned. Skoria barely took any effort to destroy.

* * *

Mettaton grins as he comes up to the ship's bridge, covered in purple feathers and black blood. The remaining crew squawks at him. He doesn't even bother to fight them hand-to-claw. He electrocutes them, laughing maniacally as they howl in pain, and then shoots them with a gun he stole from one of the guard-birds.

He then takes the helm. "Hel-hello, dar-dar-darling~" He purrs to the computer. It shivers and gives up all its information and processes submissively. Mettaton strokes it lasciviously as a reward before he flies the ship back up out into space.

He activates the cloak and goes around the scattered fleet of purple ships orbiting the planet. Then, using the navigation controls, he triangulates where the planet is that he was originally on, and activates the- whatever it's called. The super-glittery-hyper-extreme-blast-off thing that makes him go really fast.

When he reaches the planet, he sees Papyrus's fleet of ships in orbit around one of the moons. He flies gleefully to it. A call opens up, video-chat on the screen. Papyrus scowls at him through the camera.

"Darling, I'm fine, no need to panic~" Mettaton trills.

"Oh. I forgot you existed." Papyrus says dismissively, and then a tractor beam locks onto Mettaton's ship and pulls it into a bay of one of the big cruisers. Mettaton's gears grind as he tries to process what he just heard.

"I know our tryst wasn't the best, doll, but you could at least _be honest_." He purrs lusciously, posing with his legs spread and his four arms stroking different parts of himself. Papyrus looks away with light pink dusting his cheekbones.

"Get on board, piston-head."

"Ohhhh~ you'd love to _board_ _me_ and feel my _piston_ in you again, wouldn't you~~" Mettaton moans. The call ends abruptly, leaving him extremely dissatisfied. Ugh~~ Papyrus never was any fun, even if his lousy attempts to sexually please Mettaton were _hilarious_. And Mettaton is still furious that Papyrus only stayed a month before _dumping_ him...

He steps out of his small ship into the bay and rubs absently at the dried blood on his fingers. Blood always makes him horny. Perhaps he can find a vulcanoid to please him. He's sure that every crew on this ship must be ready to beg on their knees for the privilege of feeling his grand expertise thrust down their throat or up their ass.

He swaggers down the halls, pretending like he's going to the mess hall. The people he passes give him cursory nods and friendly smiles, but nothing more, no hint of ardor, no smoldering of lust.

Ugh. Mettaton groans and hits his lovely award-winning face against the wall, gently of course, he wouldn't want to break it. Papyrus has his crew whipped too well, none of them are any fun either. Whatever is a robot in distress to do...??

He almost realizes that his sensors are still turned off, but decides to ignore that before he is confronted with the fact that he's not actually horny, he's only acting that way. Then he has the bright idea to get Alphys to activate his sensors again. He turns on his tracker to hunt her down.

And then he gets sidetracked watching hot people exercise in the gym.

* * *

Undyne lays knocked out on the operating table as MK and a nurse work to untangle the threads of _iifra_ tangling Undyne's soul and the undeveloped magic of the baby's pre-soul together. Alphys watches, holding her wife's hand. Undyne had finally convinced her of the necessity of this operation and the future need for protection when they bond again. She had promised they could have kids when they got back to the Milky Way. Undyne's so sure they'll be able to go home.

Alphys isn't that sure, _can't_ be that sure. She's sure that she loves Undyne, though, and since Undyne was the one carrying the baby, she agreed that it was Undyne's choice in the end. She secretly entertains fantasies of being pregnant herself, though.

When the operation is done, Undyne wakes up and smiles at Alphys, but the smile is subdued, empty. "You may experience some mixed feelings after the operation, possibly even depression, but it's different for everyone." MK tells her. "I can give you anti-depressants if you experience persistent debilitating mental status, if you'd like."

"Fuhuhu, I don't need any fucking pills. Although... I may need actual _fucking_ pills to make sure this doesn't happen again, doc." She laughs heartily again. Alphys giggles, burying her sadness. MK nods and leaves with the platter of formless magic. Alphys's smile falls. It's not dust, because it had no physicality to it yet. But she still feels the loss like a sharp nail.

Undyne pats her head. "We did the right thing, Al. He wouldn't have had a proper childhood out here."

Alphys nods. "I- I know, babe." She kisses Undyne. "How do you feel?"

"Ngah, feelings are for WIMPS!!" Undyne pumps her fist in the air, then looks away bashfully. "Guess I'm a wimp, then, cause I feel kinda sad. I wish we weren't out here, Al, I wish I coulda had a mini-me running about, FUHUHU!"

Alphys smiles weakly. "Babe, d-don't be sad."

Undyne nods, grinning sharkishly and blinking away tears. "Yeah! Fuhu, thanks, Alphys."

There's still a tension between them. Undyne is still sad and Alphys realizes too late that no amount of simply telling her to not be sad will actually help her. Alphys is still sad, too, but she ignores it in favor of pretending to be happy so that Undyne will cheer up.

MK returns with birth control pills for both of them. "It'll only work if you're both taking it, yo." He tells them kindly. "And if you have any problems, side effects, or forget to take it, just see me again."

"Thanks, doc!" Undyne grins again and grabs Alphys by the hand. She stumbles as she stands up, so Alphys steadies her. The two leave the medical bay and head back to their quarters. They curl up in bed together, Undyne forming the big spoon, and simply rest in the other's presence. Alphys kisses her wife's neck.

"We should have a joining party." She murmurs.

"Fuhuhu, a big one! Fuck yeah!" Undyne whisper-yells back.

"We'll invite everyone. Asgore, Sans, MK, Papyrus, Frisk-"

" _Fuck_ Frisk." Undyne growls.

"No, fuck _me_." Alphys purrs.

* * *

The last question stares up at you from the tablet, taunting you. You realize it's a no-win scenario, and you've already gotten every other question correct, but this annoys you. You've already passed. So why do you pause here??

The scenario poses an impossible situation and asks you to show your reaction in an essay. You grind your teeth together and hiss. If you were actually in that situation, you would cut your losses and get the hell out of there, but you have a feeling that would frowned upon. So your problem is, how to get as many people out with you as possible? A full-scale retreat may be cowardly, but it's less cowardly than leaving in a runabout by yourself. You hit on a solution that might make some sense and write it down.

You're finally done. You passed. You grin and yawn, stretching your arms out, then get up and walk to the gym.

You pass the cargo bay on your way and peek inside to say hi to Kyrie. Nobody is inside. But, there's a new ship, a delicately curved elegant purple ship, slightly larger than a runabout. You stare at it in awe as you approach. It's smooth, almost slippery, to touch. Its door swooshes open when you turn the lock mechanism.

You're already here, you might as well explore. Papyrus doesn't need to know. You step inside, then gag as the heavy scent of death hits you. The nausea only grows worse when you realize there's bodies strewn about the black-walled interior.

Purple-feathered creatures, their necks snapped, their bellies slashed open; you step in a black puddle and can't hold back the sudden rise of bile in your throat when you realize it's blood. The bile spills out your mouth, burning your nose as tears sting in your eyes. This is a massacre. You wander through the ship, forcing yourself onward in search of survivors.

A mewling noise alerts you to the existence of at least one. You find the bird hidden in a duct. "Shit, what the hell happened here??" You open the grate and take it gently in your arms. It's at least as big as a dog, and built like an eagle, with claw-hands on the elbows of its wings.

It cries, warbling. "Imperfection! Killed us all! Destroyed the perfect! Imperfections must be eliminated! It eliminated us!"

"What'd it look like?"

"Six limbs, no wings, terrible red, terrible noise!" It buries its beak under your arm. "Hide! Don't let it find me!"

You frown. You don't know anybody with that description. "Okay, do you want to hide in my room until I can help you clean your ship out?"

"Hide, yes!" It squawks. "You mostly purple, you nearly perfect!"

You cock your head, confused, even when you realize your clothes are purple today. "Yyyyeah. Purple is perfect. And red is imperfect."

"Yes, yes! Now hide!" The bird grabs onto your arm with its talons. You stand up and carry it out with you, trying to avoid the bodies. The bird makes sad sounds as you pass the unavoidable carnage.

You lead it through the jefferies tubes to your room in an old unused broom closet, then quickly grab all the purple clothes you have and cover the few red items with them. You have a majority of purple clothes. You never really realized that. The bird settles on the purple sheets you slung from two posts to make a hammock.

"I'll be back. I have something I need to do." You tell it.

"Cuina, ke/kis/ker." The bird, Cuina chirps, somehow telling you kis pronouns in the same word as kis name.

"Ryuk." You reply.

Ke cocks kis head and warbles, "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet." You tell ker grimly. If the murderer is on this ship, you don't know what you'll do.

You leave the bird in your broom closet and sneak back through the jefferies tubes to just outside the gym. You still feel sick from the carnage. Summon your courage and step through the doors that slide open for you.

Papyrus isn't present. You're not sure whether you're relieved or annoyed. You look around at everyone doing exercises. A spike of fear makes you almost vomit again when you see _it_. The bright red and black four-armed robot, who's hooting with a glitchy voice processor at one of the people exercising. Shit.

It sees you looking at it and winks with two of its four eyes. And now it's swaggering over in a confusing failure of an attempt to be sexy. You turn and walk towards the door quickly. Its steps clank behind you. It knows. One of its metal arms blocks your path to the door and another slams against the wall beside you. You gulp and face your doom. It's smirking.

"We-we-well, hello, ther-er-ere~" It says glitchily, a third hand caressing your chin as you try to melt into the wall. "You see-see-m ardorous enough fo-o-or me..." Its fourth, and hopefully final, hand rests on your waist.

You grin innocently up at it. "U-uh, sir, what are you doing?"

"I'm making your day~" It purrs, its face an inch from yours, and a shudder of disgust thrills down your spine.

"Bastard." You snarl, dropping the innocent act. "Get away from me."

The robot gasps airily, dropping your waist to cover its mouth and gripping your chin firmly. "Wha-a-at's this~? Playing _h-h-ard to ge-et_ , are we~?"

You growl deep in your throat and spit in its face. It screeches and backs off to wipe the spittle from its eyes. You make a break for the door.

As soon as it opens, you crash into Papyrus and fall on your butt. Ignoring his outraged cry, you leap to your feet and run for the mess hall. There's a secret hiding place there, if you can just get there fast enough. The clanking whir of metal feet stomps behind you as the robot screams its displeasure.

A sharp cold pain stabs through your leg. The robot yelps at the same time. You float, weightless. Spin to see the Admiral in full rage-mode, striding straight for you. You face him, resigned. Now he's going to throw you into the brig for the rest of this trip, however long it takes.

"WHAT THE HELL, METTATON??" He stops to yell at the robot first, though. You try to reach for the wall while his attention isn't on you. So that you can push off from it and possibly escape, of course.

"Ohh~ Darling~ I knew you'd _co-o-ome_ for me..." Mettaton purrs.

"Fucking _murderer_." You snarl, suddenly angry that he's flirting with Papyrus. "And you sexually harass people too?? Whoop-de-doo, we've got the whole package deal."

Mettaton blinks in shock. Papyrus stares at you. "What," Papyrus says calmly, "The _Fuck_ Did You Just Say??"

"He massacred this ship full of bird people! And now he's-"

" ** _METTATON, YOU IMBECILIC MORON!_** " Papyrus roars. You're shaken into silence. You've only heard him use that tone of voice before back when you got everyone on third shift to try to crash the ship.

Mettaton looks startled into terror, although he quickly regains his composure and purrs, "They were attacking me, first, darling, and I had to get back to you somehow."

Papyrus looks ready to kill him. He grabs Mettaton by the throat and drags him down the hall. You drop to the ground, his spell on you released. "We'll Talk Later, Ryuk. I'm Taking This Brigand To The Brig."

You nod, despite him not being able to see it. And you run back to your broom closet to tell Cuina ke's safe.

* * *

Anger boils in Papyrus's ribcage as he drags the noisy annoying robot to the brig. Mettaton pleads his case, but it goes ignored. How dare the robot mock him like this?? How dare he _kill_ the very people who might be able to _help_ them?? One of the orders at the beginning was that all interactions with aliens would be peaceful unless the aliens behaved otherwise. It's true that Mettaton is slightly scratched up and claims to have been attacked first, but that doesn't mean he had to _kill everyone on the fucking ship_ and then _steal that very same ship_ , quite possibly guiding pissed off aliens back to Papyrus's fleet.

"ARE YOU REALLY THIS MUCH OF A FUCKING MORON??" He demands when he reaches the brig.

Mettaton attempts to seduce him with his sexy legs. Papyrus slaps him and he gasps in shock. "D-doll~"

"YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS _ADMIRAL_ OR _SIR_." Papyrus spits and throws him into a cell, slamming on the forcefield. "BRACKEN, FRISK, YOU TWO ARE PERMITTED TO LEAVE. STAY OUT OF TROUBLE." He lets the two out and they quickly leave, glancing at him with wary looks. "METTATON... YOU WILL BE EXTREMELY LUCKY IF I DON'T HAVE TO HAND YOU OVER TO THE ALIENS WHOSE PEOPLE YOU KILLED..." He's bluffing, of course. He wouldn't do that to the aliens.

His earpiece, taped to his skull, squeaks with Dexi's voice, * _Sir, several alien ships approaching at warp speed._ *

"Shields at full power, prepare to evade, and try to open a channel." He snaps to her and then realizes he has one more order. "And call Ensign Ryuk up to the bridge."

* _Sir?_ *

" _Now_."


	13. I Do Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaa thank you all for sticking with me!! i'm more than halfway done, hooray!! and also it helps that i know generally how this will end, lol ;P
> 
> I might take a week or two break from posting so that i can finish and then go back and revise things. not sure. we'll see what happens. 
> 
> also yay, 50,000 words!
> 
> edit: made a minor alteration, there used to be two blessings from the planet, but i retconned that, now there's only Gaer's. think that'll help the plot flow better, lol.

* _Ensign Ryuk, please report to the bridge immediately_.* The intercom crackles. In your hidden broom closet, you grumble and hit your head on the wall. Cuina squawks in concern. "Come on, dude, give me a starsdamned break." You mutter.

"What?" Ke warbles. "What's red?"

" _Red_ is that _Boss_ is gonna bitch at me in front of everyone for, I dunno, fighting Mettaton, maybe? Something, anyway, that ass is just looking to get me in trouble..." Ignoring the fact that he doesn't have to look very far, you climb over the pile of purple clothes forming a nest. "Come on, you might as well enjoy the show. And maybe I can get him to send you back to your people."

"People, _pah_! Like Ryuk! Ryuk mostly purple!" Cuina flaps up and lands on your arm again.

You pet kis head and grumble good-naturedly, "I guess we do have a crippling lack of purple bird engineers..."

Cuina squawks happily and nuzzles you with kis beak, nipping your fingers gently. You go back into the jefferies tubes, taking a shortcut to the bridge. It's not as fast or nausea-inducing as Sans's shortcuts, but it works just as well, and it takes you out to right over the bridge. You drop down with Cuina, the bird flapping in surprise, and you hear at least one officer yelp in shock at your sudden appearance.

"Ensign Ryuk, reporting for duty!" You salute one of the Lieutenants with your free hand, which also happens to be the wrong hand for doing such.

Papyrus strides into the bridge at that exact moment and you drop the salute in favor of bowing grandly to him with a presentation of Cuina. He nods back stiffly, not even reprimanding you. "I see Mettaton missed one." He says, his voice cold with restrained anger. 

"Yes, sir. Cuina is kis name, and ke wants to stay with us."

"If- _ke_ helps us placate kis pissed off comrades, it's a deal. We could use an ambassador who knows the area."

"Ke's actually an engineer." You correct. "I can translate for ker until ke learns the language."

"I'll allow it." He replies, then gently karate-chops your shoulder. "You're now our substitute ambassador."

So, wait, he doesn't actually plan on yelling at you for fighting with Mettaton? You grin. "Thanks, Paaaa-" His scowl makes you trail off. "Uh. _Admiral_. Sir." This _not being insubordinate_ thing is harder than you thought it would be.

"Dexi, notify all ships of red alert and open a channel to the combative forces approaching. Suzy, prepare for evasive maneuvers."

"Ready, sir!" Suzy cheers and winks at you.

"Done." Dexi is calmer, but she gives you a stern once-over and sniffs like she finds you lacking.

"Ryuk, stop gawking at my officers and get harnessed." Papyrus orders. You startle and move towards the back wall. Papyrus stops you. "No, sit there." He points you towards a console near the viewport. You sit down at it and set Cuina on the arm of the chair, buzzing with excitement. Cuina makes a soft purring noise; ke's nervous.

The comlink with Cuina's people opens up and Cuina ducks kis head under the console. You gulp at the sight of the huge angry bird glaring into your soul. "How dare you!!" They squawk. "Don't bother pleading for your red lives!! Purple will live on!"

"What do I say??" You demand of Papyrus.

"What did _they_ say??" He demands back. You tell him, paraphrasing so that he isn't confused by the cultural color quirk, and he thinks for a moment. "Tell them we have captured the culprit responsible for the theft of their ship and the deaths of their crew, and that we will return their ship to them along with payment in recompense."

You repeat that back to the bird, who ruffles their feathers and cocks their head, considering it. "We are Ivren, proud of our purple, but this red stole from us. However, we will accept recompense. Return our ship with three tons of purple _cloth_ and gems and we will forgive you."

Papyrus frowns when he hears that, and you explain that you think the _cloth_ the bird is talking about is some unknown type of weave. "We have gold and biogel, we have materials and resources, but we have no cloth or gems."

The bird clicks their beak upon hearing that. "What are you, then, if not a trading fleet??"

"We're lost," You say quickly without consulting Papyrus. "We are explorers but we got caught in a wormhole and dropped here. We have materials that were valuable to our societies, but probably hold little value here."

"What is this _gold_ and _biogel_?" They ask.

"Conductive materials useful for circuits." You say. Cuina perks up at that. The other bird screeches at ker and ke hides again.

"What is ke doing on your ship??"

"Ke is the last survivor. Ke wants to stay with us." You tell them. "We'll give you two tons of gold and one ton of biogel, along with some purple cloth that isn't woven like yours."

"You will give us five tons of gold, two tons biogel!"

"We can't haggle without knowing each other's names," You chastise. "I'm Ryuk. This is Cuina, and that's my Admiral, Papyrus."

"Sador, she/her." Sador warbles. "I don't care about that pitiful red bird."

Cuina shrinks, huddling in kis wings. "Hey, Cuina is my purple friend, so there!" You snap at Sador. "Your ship will only carry four tons, so I say two tons gold, one ton biogel, and one ton graphite."

"Graphite!" Sador squawks excitedly, then clicks her beak and looks ashamed of her outburst. She's not very good at this haggling thing. "Two tons graphite."

"You were mean to Cuina." You say sternly. "One ton."

" _Apologies_ to _Cuina_." Sador chirps snootily. "Two tons."

"Alright, we'll give you two tons graphite and two tons gold, along with the ship and the bodies of your people for funeral rites."

Sador warbles, "Those red birds are dust!" You're confused for a moment, until you stumble on an idea that the ship Mettaton captured must have been some runaway prisoners, and that's why Cuina wants to stay with you instead of going back.

"I changed my mind. You can take the ship and that's it." You tell Sador, hardening your gaze and banking on your theory. "You don't really care about the deaths, you just want the ship back. We have stronger ships. We could whip you in battle, you won't risk fighting us."

Sador clicks her beak angrily. " _Turn red_." She swears, probably a powerful curse in Ivren language. "Fine. Clean the ship first, I don't want red blood staining my talons."

"All's purple, then?" You grin.

She squawks, clearly upset at losing, " _Purple_ , yes. Purple."

You grin back at Papyrus and tell him, "They want the ship cleaned out and then given back. Nothing else."

He stares at you. "How the _hell_ did you manage that??"

"I'll tell you later." You pet Cuina's head and ke ruffles kis feathers.

Dexi ends the comlink. Cuina sits up, relieved now that Sador is gone. "You were a prisoner, weren't you." You say to ker.

"Red blood, Emperor of Ivren likes purple blood!" The blood in the ship was black, though.

"Okay." You give up and collapse back into the comfy chair, your soul pounding with triumph.

Papyrus, mercifully, ignores you and orders his officers around, sending a cleaning crew to the ship instead of making you do it.

"What if we rezzed some of the Ivren?" You ask suddenly, startling Cuina into pecking your ear. "I think we have some packs left. Maybe they have a navigator?"

Papyrus stops short and considers this with a greedy glint in his sockets. "That is an intriguing idea, Ensign. You're in charge of the bodies. You may rez five, but have Cuina tell you which ones."

You carefully don't groan at the distasteful work you inadvertently volunteered for. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Papyrus stomps down the halls to the brig, letting the elegant murals dancing across the sides calm his ire. For every anniversary of their launch, Papyrus would hold a fleet-wide festival, holding a contest to design murals and everyone would paint the winning designs onto the walls. The anniversary approaches, a few weeks away. He knows it's foolish to hope they'll be able to celebrate it in the Milky Way, as they haven't even gotten close to finding out how they got stuck here in the first place. A navigator who knows the area will be invaluable to the fleet.

He stops just before entering the brig. The idea of talking to Mettaton at this time sickens him. He could just make Alphys deal with the robot. He nods decisively, he'll do that and maybe get K'talla to play Orthor with him. Or he could spar Undyne again, he still needs to give her a chance to defeat him.

With his soul lightened by the ideas of much pleasanter activities, he turns around and leaves Mettaton in the brig.

He passes the cargo bay and glances in to see Ryuk laying out the dead birds on the floor. He'll make them scrub the blood off later. They look up at him, then stick their tongue out. Nyeh?? He has half a mind to stomp in and reprimand them for mocking their superior officer, but that's what they want. So he does the smart thing and-

They flip him off and yell, "Get over here, idiot, stop messing around!"

Papyrus storms in and their eyes widen comically. Nyeh, they should have known better than to taunt him, he's going to throw them in the brig for an entire _month_ for this insubordination. And then there's a flapping noise behind him and the purple bird called Cuina passes over him and Papyrus realizes he may have made a mistaken assumption. "U-UH! I AM JUST HERE TO CHECK ON YOU!! AND!! MAKE SURE YOU'RE DOING YOUR JOB! WHICH YOU ARE! GOOD WORK!"

Cuina lands on Ryuk's arm, squawking, and they stand up, grinning warily. "Yeah, uh. Yeah."

"OKAY, BYE!" He realizes he's talking loudly again, but he has trouble controlling his volume sometimes- not when he's flustered, he's definitely not flustered right now!

They nod and shuffle their feet nervously. "Can I ask you something, first? _Sir_."

"What?" He restrains his earsplitting volume.

They look away. "Why are you doing this?"

Papyrus scowls. "Doing what?? Are you displeased with the work I gave you??"

"No, no! I'm used to work. It's just. Why are you suddenly... being _nice_ to me?"

"Am I??" He questions, offended.

"You've always treated me like shit, so. I don't know why- why you're suddenly being merciful."

Papyrus scowls. If he was treating them poorly, it was because he was stressed and their irritating attitude wasn't helping. "I am not!! Whatever gives you that mistaken impression??"

"You came back to rescue me- and Frisk." They say wryly. "And you made me an _officer_ instead of locking me out of sight for a whole century."

"W-Well, obviously, you're looking at it the wrong way!!" Papyrus says sternly. "I'm being very harsh!! You now have to live in fear of slipping up and disappointing me!! And you owe me a life debt! So- so there. I'm not being merciful at all! Nyeh heh." He can't resist his little self-indulgent cackle.

They nod gravely, but their eyes twinkle. "Yes, sir."

"Yes, sir!" Cuina squawks. "Chillax or fuck off!"

Ryuk freezes guiltily. "I didn't teach ker that!"

Papyrus laughs, relaxing. "Nyeh heh heh, you did take responsibility for ker! So I suppose it's the brig for you!"

"No, please! Anything but that!" They beg, a grin pulling at their lips.

"Then get back to work and report to the gym for training when you're done!" Papyrus orders, gesturing grandly.

"Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!" Their cheerfully wicked grin shines blindingly. Papyrus finds his own jaws mirroring it. He hems and forces a frown. They salute lazily, turning it into a wave. "Later."

"Y-YES, LATER." He turns and stomps out, his cape fluttering behind him in a dignified manner. He's not at all flustered by their lackadaisical attitude. He's not.

When he reaches Undyne's quarters, he raps fiercely on the door. A loud crashing noise ensues. He opens the door- and then quickly turns around, covering his face. "UNDYNE!!!" He screeches, his cheekbones violently hot. "COME OUT OF THERE WHEN YOU ARE DECENT!!" Undyne taps him on the shoulder. He peeks and then smacks her evil grin away from himself. "I SAID _DECENT_!!"

"Oh, grow up and get that stick outta your goddamned pelvis, moron." Undyne laughs, clothed only in flimsy negligee and _socks_. Stars, why'd he have to see her socks?? She hugs him, her boobs pressing against his ribcage. "FUHUHU!! We're basically brother and sister!! You've seen me in _less_!!"

"YES, BUT WE WERE TRAINING AND THAT WAS TRAINING GEAR!! WHAT YOU ARE WEARING NOW IS SEX GEAR!!"

"I lied. I woke up late like that after fucking Alphys and wanted to spare your dignity."

Papyrus screeches. "MY DIGNITY IS VERY UPSET!! YOU COULD HAVE CHANGED INTO DECENT CLOTHES!! LIKE YOU SHOULD BE DOING RIGHT NOW!!"

"NGAH, I wanted to steel you to the female body!!"

"I AM EXTREMELY STEELED!! SO STEELED THAT I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU WOULD JUST PUT ON SOME GODDAMNED CLOTHES ALREADY!!"

"Fucking _pan_." Undyne mutters fondly. "Alright, you can look now."

"FOR REAL??" Papyrus doesn't want to risk it.

"For real, dumbass." She grabs him in a headlock and he struggles in vain as she noogies him. He protests loudly, but is quite thankful she at least has some clothes on now.

Except for...

"UNDYNE, GET THOSE SCANDALOUS SOCKS AWAY FROM ME!!"

* * *

I snarl at my rowdy kittens who keep jumping on me and I leap out of the house, gliding to my quiet place. The prospect of reloading again tempts me as I watch the bubbling creek.

The creek halts mid-flow, every droplet frozen in time. My ears flatten as I back into a rock, my tail curling around my legs and my wings huddling around my head. The spirit of the land is displeased with me.

"Foolish child." The spirit rumbles gently and I perk up at the lack of anger in its voice. "I know your desires are for the stars. My desire is for peace. There is a star-boat left by the _Mista-Gil_ , the star-sailors. Go. But you must promise me you will not use your powers except in the most dire emergency, until the Gil-Mista have returned to their home."

I perk up, excitement ruffling my fur. "Really? You give me your blessing?"

"I give it." The spirit laughs, a deep majestic sound. 

A star flutters down and coalesces into a silver pendant which shimmers with ultraviolet shades. I gasp, trying in vain to contain my delight and amazement. The pendant goes around my neck, the shiny-rock chain thick and short.

A light ecstasy consumes me and a bright star forms in my mind, setting a return point at this moment. I don't need to worry about my troop anymore. They'll be fine, my wife will take over and rule in my absence. And I'll be a star-wanderer.

The spirit sets me down by a large shiny-rock- _metal_ craft. I hop inside and explore it. The controls are almost too large for me, but the spirit shows me how each works. I press the right buttons, move the right sticks and _I_ _blast off_.

Space is the most beautiful place I've ever been. I float, weightless, and stare out the clear barrier at the huge round blue-green-white sphere- _my planet_ floating behind me. I'm- actually in space. I did it!! I'm a star-wanderer!

Then I see another, slightly smaller, reddish-brown sphere. That must be the moon Raq! I fly towards it, then see other ships going around it. Why are they just circling it? _Orbiting_. 

Something beeps. I tap the beeping thing and one of the weird sapling people appears on the clear barrier. I try to talk to them. "Greetings, I am Gaer. I want to join your ship as you promised me." I say, keeping myself calm.

"Hello, Gaer." They say. "I'm Lieutenant Dexi. Who taught you Common?"

"You're speaking _my_ language!" I reply in confusion, and then realize my spirit's blessing must be helping me. "Let me on your ship! I want to explore the stars with you!"

"Let me talk to my Admiral, Gaer." Dexi bares her teeth- _smiling_ , she's smiling, and it's seen as a friendly gesture among Gil-Mista. Huh. Dexi talks into thin air while pressing a button, "Sir?"

And another voice speaks from nowhere. "I'm busy, Lieutenant, use your own judgement! Unless it's an emergency!"

She looks back at me and shrugs. Another Gil-Mista jumps up and down and claps their forelimbs together. "Can we keep it?!"

"He." I correct snootily. "Hm." Dexi scans me and my hope shrivels under her intense scrutiny. "What can you do?"

"What??" I yowl. "I can do lots of things!"

"No, what skill can you give us that we _need_." She says.

"I can carve!"

"We have no need for artists."

"Fight!!" She shakes her head. My ears flatten. I've come all this way just to be rejected?? "What do you need, then??"

It's her turn to think, now. "We do need a cook. Are you any good at that?"

" _Am I_??" I hiss, affronted. "I am the best cook in my troop! Every leader needs to be best at everything!"

"You're not the leader here, Gaer." Dexi reminds me. "If we take you on as our cook, you will have responsibilities and you will answer to me or my Admiral."

"Fine." I growl. "Just let me on, already." This is turning out less well than I expected.

The ship opens up and a _tractor beam_ pulls my little ship inside. And thus, I join the Gil-Mista.

* * *

MK walks back to his quarters, grumbling under his breath. Nurse Ri'ka saw how distracted he was and forced him to take a break. He's fine. He doesn't need rest. He needs to help with the research on the Ivren's immune systems and metabolism. It's the weirdest thing. They don't get energy from food. They seem to gain it from light, like they're plants. Except it's not just _light_ , the wavelength matters too, which might explain the bird's weird obsession with the color purple.

"Ah, Doctor." Luon's voice sends an electric jolt down MK's spine.

"Y-yo!" MK replies stiffly, spinning to face his- _friend_."We- we should totally, uh, have another party, yo, that was wicked! An-and-" Luon steps closer, his face unreadable. "A-and- maybe invite my friend Ryuk this time, they're wicked with strip poker-" MK's muzzle heats suddenly as he realizes he's talking too much. "N-not that I want anybody to strip!!" He says frantically.

Luon's eyes stare through him as they always do, but his sharp teeth glint in a wicked grin as he enters MK's personal space bubble, so close that MK can smell the blueberries he ate for lunch. "If you want to kiss me, then kiss me."

MK obeys without even thinking, letting Luon's arms wrap around him and nipping Luon's upper lip. The Ferengi's tongue slides into MK's mouth and the Fae gasps, a hot hunger in his soul. He holds his friend close with his tail and his own tongue reaches out to explore Luon's teeth and the roof of his mouth, heat pulsing from his chest all the way to the tip of his tail and nose. He backs off finally to let Luon breathe, but Luon seems barely fazed, perhaps Ferengi can go without air longer than other vulcanoids. MK wants to find out. The longing scares him and he staggers back a step.

"Y-yo, you sure?"

Luon grins. "Why wouldn't I be? I want you."

"Like- you mean like dating? I can't date when I'm- like _this_!" MK almost snarls in contempt of himself.

"Why not?" Luon purrs. "You're strong, you're smart, you're kind. Our flaws are compatible. What's there to be afraid of?"

"I can't." MK says firmly. "I just. Not like this. I need a glamour, you promised me you'd help me find a glamour." He's being petulant again, he notices, but he digs his feet in and doesn't give up.

Luon nods. "I will, of course. I just needed you to know I find you attractive no matter what you look like."

MK's entire body heats. "Oh."

"If you don't _want_ to, then certainly we won't, but it seemed like-"

MK makes him shut up by kissing him again. "I do." He tells Luon.

"Then it's settled." Luon pats MK's head-spike and starts to walk away. "A party would be lovely, perhaps in a couple of days."

"Yo, your place or mine?"

Luon looks back with a wink. "Either works."

"A-alone?"

"We're not quite there yet." Luon tells him. MK's face heats. So they did just kiss at the last party. He was worried over nothing.

"O-okay." He'd be lying if he said he wasn't just a little disappointed. MK realizes he'd better research Ferengi dating so he knows what he's getting into, he wouldn't want to jump in and then be confused by cultural differences.

He goes to the gym instead of back to his quarters, a feathery lightness consuming his soul. He doesn't want to be alone at the moment.

"FIFTY LAPS!!" The Admiral orders his officers around in his daily training session. Today is the ensigns' turn. MK watches them all jog around the track, ignoring Papyrus. He sees Ryuk at the front of the pack, keeping out of reach of the others, who seem mad at them for some reason. "IF ENSIGN RYUK WOULD STOP PISSING ME OFF, MAYBE I WOULD GO EASY ON YOU BRATS." Papyrus says in reply to one of his ensign's heartfelt plea for mercy.

MK frowns. Ryuk is an ensign? They never mentioned that. Bitterness spikes through the happiness in his soul, bleeding it out. Nobody ever cares enough to tell him anything.

Ryuk waves as they pass, then ducks a thrown shoe. MK shakes his head. They probably just didn't think it was important enough to mention.

"Hello, MK! Would you like to join us?" _Papyrus_.

MK sneers. " _No_."

Papyrus frowns. "Are you alright, doctor?"

The bitterness leaps out of his chest through his throat and ties his tongue into knots. He coughs to clear it. "Yo, you ask that _now_??" He snarls.

"What's wrong??" Papyrus groans. Oh, of course, it must be _such_ a _trial_ for Papyrus to have to actually _pretend_ to _care_ about his insignificant doctor. 

MK doesn't say that, though. He growls, "You _know_ why I'm mad."

"Would I be asking if I _did_??" Papyrus snaps. "Fine. If you want to be _pissy_ , then go ahead, see if I care. But go be a thundercloud elsewhere, _if_ you don't _mind_."

MK snaps back, "You _never_ cared, yo!" Fury rages in his soul, begging to be let loose, clawing at his chest.

"What??" Papyrus growls, MK's warning to stop being petulant and actually explain himself.

"You heard me!! You never- never cared enough to check up on me after Frisk destroyed my glamour, and you- you _don't care about me_ , you just forgot me like you always do, like _everyone_ always does!!"

Papyrus seems to be frozen. "Uh." He says eloquently. Very satisfactory, Papyrus, just the comeback MK wanted to hear.

"Fuck you." MK snarls.

Papyrus actually has the decency to look guilty for once. "I apologize, MK. You're right. I should have visited, but I got so busy that I forgot. But that's no excuse."

MK stares at Papyrus, shocked that the arrogant skeleton actually apologized. "I- yo. I know you were busy... but it just- it _hurt_. I thought you were my _friend_."

He winces at that. "I- I'm sorry..."

" _Good_." MK turns and stomps away, feeling too angry to forgive Papyrus just yet.

"I did check on you, though." Papyrus says before MK can reach the door. "Lieutenant-Commander Luon reported your status to me."

MK stops short. "O-oh." He says softly. "Um. Thanks? I guess I can forgive you. Since. Me and Luon are- friends."

"Of course, I knew you two would be great for each other!! It was a clever move-" And there he goes again, off on another bombastic rant. MK groans, but finds there's a hint of fondness in his annoyance. He missed hearing Papyrus rant. Maybe he was responsible too, if he had just stopped eating his own tail with bitterness, he could have made an effort to check on Papyrus himself.

Ryuk jogs over and pokes Papyrus verbally into snapping and giving everyone more exercises to do. They're a dumbass, as always, and MK giggles at their antics.

"Oh, and MK?" Papyrus says near the end of the session, when everyone is about to leave. "Alphys is working on a new glamour for you. It should be ready by the anniversary."

MK's soul explodes with happiness and he runs at Papyrus, who wraps him willingly in a strong hug. "Thank you!!" He weeps for joy. Ryuk joins the hug, cackling wickedly as Papyrus shrieks. MK laughs with tears streaming down his face. Today is the best day ever.

* * *

Today is the worst day ever, you realize when you see Sans waiting in your broom closet with blacked-out sockets. He's not going to let you postpone your doom any longer. But when he hears what you did, you're sure he'll kill you.

You go to your fridge and pull out one of the bottles of Rigellian wine you stole from the cargo bay, then pour two glasses-- also stolen-- and smile wanly at him. "Drink?"


	14. black knights and dark side battlecries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry, this chapter focuses mostly on ryuk and their shenanigans. we'll get back to regular spread-out focus next chapter.

"well, kid?" His voice is hard and he refuses the proffered drink with a wave. "time's up."

You look away and raise your own glass to your lips. You're not doing this sober. But the glass turns blue before you can drink. You let go ruefully and Sans sets it down on a shelf. "You're going to hate me." You tell him.

"yep." He replies. "'fess up, kiddo." He steps closer and puts a hand on your shoulder. "unless you want me to drag the truth from Paps... i can guarantee you i won't be nearly as kind if i have to do that."

"Wanna bet?" You snark back grimly. "I lied to him."

"okay, but that's not the whole truth."

"I lied that I was leading everyone out of Skoria." You confess, looking straight into his black sockets. "But I was leading them to their deaths. There was no way out."

"so you betrayed them." He says softly. "you betrayed my bro. why?"

"Sk-Skoria." You choke on the worst part. "It told me- I'd be safe." Your eyes drop to the ground, unable to keep his gaze.

"and why'd you make that deal?" Sans probes.

"I- I didn't want- I was afraid to- to die." You admit, shame crawling on your back.

His hand on your shoulder tightens but he doesn't say anything for a long moment. You don't dare cry. Tears only ever make things worse. Better to submit and get it over with.

"heh." He says softly and lets go of you. "when Paps was gone... it felt like a piece of my soul was missing." You wince, sensing the direction of his words. "i couldn't protect him. i _felt better_ thinking you were with him, to keep him safe." Hunch in on yourself, ducking your head, cold with fear and guilt. "i _trusted_ you to keep him safe, kid. and what did you do...?" You don't reply, your throat choked up and eyes stinging. He repeats the question in a lower tone, commanding an answer.

"I- I betrayed him-" You choke out, a spike of pain in your soul.

"you fucking _lead him to his death_ so you could save your own pathetic hide." He snarls.

"I- I fucked up." You acknowledge in a small voice.

"kiddo. buddy. i'm not gonna let this go unpunished." He says with gentle menace. " _but_. i'll let you off easy this once, since i think skoria did most of my job for me."

You flinch at the mention of the malicious AI. "Th-thank you."

"c'mere, kid." He opens his arms for a hug. It's a trap, you know, he's going to punish you somehow and he just likes to make it more painful by pretending to give you mercy first. You've seen him do it before, both with you and others. But you obey and let him wrap you in his arms."first." He says and you cringe into him, tensing as cold cyan attacks slide through your body, effectively pinning you in place. He steps back and you can't help but yelp desperately when you see your deck of cards in his hands. "heh. these special, kid? you seem to really like them... i seem to remember you blackmailing me to get'em back, even..."

Lying won't do any good. "Yeah." 

"so if i destroyed them, you'd be hurt, right?"

Shit, shit, _shit_! "Y-yeah." The truth twists on your tongue, choking you.

Sans considers this. "how badly?"

"Please don't," You beg helplessly. "That's all I have."

"thought you hated your parents, kid."

"I didn't get that from my _parents_." You say bitterly. "It- just. I can't survive without-" You trail off at the sadistic gleam in Sans's sockets. "No. _Please_. _Thrash_ me. Do whatever you want to me. Just _please_ _don't destroy my cards_!" You say desperately.

"i don't think you really have much choice, now, do ya, kid." He snaps his free hand and a dragon skull appears, a gaster blaster.

You move without thinking to grab your cards, then fall to the floor in agony as the motion sets off all the cyan attacks at once, the jagged bones tearing through your soul and leaving a creeping poison behind. He just watches you, righteous fury in his grin. "ya get it, yet?"

"Get what??" You cry helplessly.

"you'll figure it out." He throws the deck in the air. The gaster blaster tracks its path. You leap up and grab for them, but his hand yanks you back and out of the way of the blaster's beam as it disintegrates your cards midair.

They're gone. You watch the dust fall to the floor, your chest speared with several twisting spikes. "N-no." You whimper, tears sliding down your cheeks. You slump to the floor, the poison of his attacks still working on your soul, but the pain of losing the only magic you ever had, the magic you defeated Skoria with, hurts far worse.

"get up, kid." Sans orders. _Sans_. It's all his fault. You're suddenly furious. You cross your arms and refuse to look at him. He huffs. "don't be a brat, kid, or it'll get worse."

You should be smart. You should thank him for his mercy. But you can't find any guilt or even fear, only raw agonizing anger. Those cards, your magic, were the only connection you ever had to your Aggelos birthright. " _petaQ_." You curse him under your breath.

"what was that." He utters in a dangerous tone.

You leap up and snarl insults at him in all the languages you can think of. He just grins coldly at you as you vent your rage. And then his hand swings up to smack you, and he's fast but there's a moment where you could dodge it. However, you realize just in time that you're only piling more logs on your bonfire. You take it. Your head jerks to the side, cheek smarting from his hard bones. Then you glare at the floor, afraid to look him in the eyes and see exactly how hot the fire you built will be.

" _pal_." He says and you wince. He only uses _pal_ when he either despises someone or is _massively_ pissed off. "if i'd known those cards were _that_ important to ya." He snaps his fingers, a command to look him in the eyes. You obey, gulping. "i woulda done it a bit _slower_. dragged it out, maybe ripped'em up, one by one, then set fire to them. tell me something, pal." He grins angrily. "are those cards more important to ya than _Papyrus_??"

You can feel the blood draining from your face, cold ice spilling down your spine. "I-" There's nothing you can say in your defense.

"cause that's just _pathetic_." He snarls. "i took your second-most important thing away, huh? should i take your _life_ next??"

Fall onto your knees before him, heavy with hopeless pain and guilt. "Go ahead and kill me." You mutter.

"oh, don't _tempt_ me, buddy, i can think of a _hell_ of a lot of ways to kill ya. let's see, i could strand you on an asteroid." Slow. "or keelhaul ya when we go into warp..." Horrifically painful. "or i could always tie ya behind a rocket and let that blast ya into ashes." Quick, least painful, and the least amount effort on his part. You hope he chooses that one. "but ya know what? nah. it's too much work to kill you."

He's lying, but you don't call him out on it. "S-sorry." You mumble.

"apology not accepted." He snaps back. "try again in a month, maybe two. that's the second. i don't wanna be reminded you _exist_. that means stay outta my sight, avoid me completely. or _else_ i'll have to do some work."

"H-how am I supposed to do that??" You cry. "I never know where you are."

He grins mercilessly. "guess you'll just have to duck and run if ya hear me coming."

You bite back your complaints. You've already pissed him off enough. "Yes, Sans." You say quietly.

"smart kid." He says. "i'm gonna forget about your little hissy fit. don't let it happen again."

You nod obediently and choke out, "Thank you."

"look at me, kiddo." He says. You look up unwillingly, braving his furious grin. "if you _ever_ try to hurt my bro _one more time_ , it won't be cards i burn- nah, burning would even be too kind, i'll fuckin' _keelhaul_ ya, capiche?" You nod, gulping to wet your dry mouth. "heh, and ya might wanna find a healer, kid."

Your hand clenches over your chest, where the poison still chips away at your soul, weakness spreading through your limbs. Sans stares at you for a moment longer with an unreadable emotion in his grin. Then turns and disappears in a flash of void.

You try to stand up but stagger and then fall into the Ivrens' nest of clothes. Darkness descends on your vision as your hope trickles away. _Fuck_. You're dying. If only you had your... cards...

* * *

Mettaton bursts out of his brig cell with aplomb and majesty. He technically could have walked out at any point, since forcefields are useless against him, but he had to wait for the drama to be right~

He sneaks melodramatically through the halls, hunting down the one who got him put in the brig in the first place. Jail-time is extremely harmful for a star's career, so how dare they accuse him of murder! Luckily, he can track people down after having seen them only once. He activates his tracker and follows it to a broom closet. Odd. He opens it and sees the culprit, the vagabond, his accuser, slumped on the floor amidst a messy nest of purple clothes. There's ashes on one section of the floor~ oh how poetic~ His accuser was obviously partaking in illegal drugs.

Mettaton checks their soul and is shocked to see that he can't see it. "Ohh, my~~" He murmurs. Then kneels beside their prone body. He can't have them dying on him, not when he needs to take revenge.

His four hands glow green and he strokes their body, feeling the soft flesh, the firm bones underneath, the twin pulses of their heartbeat and magic. "Interesting~~" He moans. They're not exactly Human, but they're not Fae either. Mettaton prides himself in the notches on his belt, the conquests of every vulcanoid species. He would _love_ to add another and he's sure they would be honored by the opportunity to be fucked by a star.

They groan and blink blearily, their eyelids swollen and cheeks red as though they were crying.

"Hello, doll." Mettaton purrs.

They shriek and struggle, but he holds them firmly.

"Don't be like that~ I just want to talk. We had a little misunderstanding that I would like to rectify." Mettaton says reasonably, holding a phaser to their temple as they choke on their obvious awe.

"F-fuck you." They growl with a shaking voice. They're fighting against their feelings for him. "Fucking let go!!"

"Or what, darling?"

"I- I'll ice you!" They threaten, slipping out of his grasp as he loosens his grip.

"Just _try_." Mettaton would like to see them fail miserably. They're weak. Untrained.

Their hand makes an aborted motion towards a pocket, then helpless pain flashs in their eyes. Mettaton stands up, towering over them. They stare up at him, gaze hardening. "I'll help you get off the ship." They offer. "I won't tell anyone, you'll be free to go wherever you want, as long as you never come back."

"Not good enough, darling." Mettaton hums, gesturing with the phaser. "You ruined my reputation. There's nowhere for a star to go without an audience."

They smirk suddenly. "Well~" They purr, sidling closer. Mettaton fans himself. "What if you had an adoring audience?"

Mettaton gasps. "That would be _lovely_ , darling," He lowers his head so that he's almost kissing them. They stand their ground, breathing steadily. 

"Just come with me, and I'll bring you to an audience who will love you forever..." They say, running a hand up one of his arms to caress his shoulder, and Mettaton knows they're telling the truth.

* * *

Sans shortcuts up to the bridge to see Papyrus. He just needs to see him. Maybe blackmail him into giving out one of his rare hugs. He sags in relief as soon as he's on the bridge and Papyrus yelps in annoyance at his popping in unannounced.

"What's wrong, Sans?" Papyrus demands, shrewd as always.

"nuthin', bro." Sans lies. Papyrus scowls, but Sans knows he won't risk calling him out on it, lest Sans be able to take the moral high-ground because Papyrus lied to him in the first place about Ryuk. Sans's teeth grind at the reminder of the brat and he fiercely tries to stamp out any worry over their dwindling HP. If they were smart, they sought out a healer. If not, that's just the price they pay.

"Ugh." Papyrus groans and holds out his arms. "Fine. _Don't_ tell me."

Sans accepts the passive-aggressive hug gladly, holding his brother tightly. "you're the best, bro."

"Yes, I know." Papyrus replies coldly and lets go abruptly. "You will tell me what happened later."

Sans groans, wanting to forget. "it's really not important, bro."

Papyrus gives him a warning glare, then returns to what he was doing before Sans popped in. Which, apparently, is negotiate with more of the Eru aliens for information about anomalies.

Sans watches, soothed by the proof of his brother's safety and health. He's not sure why Papyrus is lying to everyone for the brat, but he wants it to stop. Everyone deserves to know the truth. The brat deserves it. But he needs to convince Papyrus of that.

A commotion erupts as the coms officer loses the comlink with the Eru and static echoes through the bridge as someone hacks into the channel.

_*Ohh, how marvelous. Now everyone can witness my rise to glory!_ * Mettaton's voice cuts in. _*So glad I thought of this excellent~ plan.*_

Papyrus groans loudly. " _Idiot_."

Sans starts to offer to capture him and bring him back, willing to do work this once for his bro, since he's in the right mood and all. But then the brat's voice resonates through the link, yet unlike anything he's ever heard from them- a seductive purr. * _Why wait, after all, when the world should realize your glorious stardom now._ *

Sans grits his teeth, recognizing their deceit yet finding himself hoping they succeed, because at the end of the day, he hates Mettaton, while the brat- he's not sure yet if he hates them now or is just severely disappointed in them. He shoves down the relief that they're okay in favor of anger for their idiocy.

Papyrus scowls and orders, "Se'Vir, hunt those two down, I want _both_ of them thrown in the brig." The security chief salutes, then marches out.

"uh, bro." Sans doesn't particularly want to defend the brat, but they'll pay for it later. "they're tricking him."

"Obviously." Papyrus growls back. "My foolish ensign is trying to take credit for defeating him."

Sans shrugs. "kay."

A runabout flies from the bay. Papyrus snaps out the order to open fire on it, aiming for the ship's rockets. * _Doll~... This doesn't seem to be an adoring audience._ * The ship performs evasive maneuvers in a shoddy and slapdash fashion, as though this was the pilot's first or second time flying.

And then it suddenly banks directly in the path of railgun fire, holes opening in the hull. A loud moaning gasp comes through the intercom. * _We- we've been hit. What's our tremendously clever plan now?_ * Mettaton groans.

Laughter reverberates. * _Oh, just to show you how much you mean to the world~_ *

Papyrus orders a tractor beam to lock onto the runabout. The small ship dodges, evading the target laser. Sans huffs.

And then the runabout opens fire on the Eru. Papyrus commands Dexi to contact the Eru and tell them that the runabout is mutinous.

But the Eru have already locked onto the runabout with lasers. Sans's eyes close as the viewport blazes with light from several ships firing on the runabout all at once. Stupid brat. He doesn't actually _want_ them to die.

The intercom kicks in again. * _See, ~darling~? You and I mean absolutely nothing to anyone._ * Ryuk tells Mettaton bitterly. * _Now face your death._ *

Papyrus says something that Sans doesn't pay attention to, too caught up in fury that they'd spit on his mercy like this.

* _What?!_ * Mettaton shrieks. * _You- you lied?? But- but you were telling me the truth! You said I'd have an adoring audience! Look at all these people cheering for me, darling, they love~ me! They would never- AAAAAGGGHHHHH!_ * A shrill metallic scream deafens Sans.

* _Heh._ * Ryuk's grim laugh is the last thing to be heard before the channel is cut and the two are left alone and unheard to die.

Sans grinds his teeth, forcing himself to keep his grin steady. He opens his eyes. The Eru have contacted Dexi, who lets them know the context.

"Sans!" Papyrus's commanding tone startles him. "Go to the _Heryn_ , I want you to help Se'Vir guard Mettaton and Ryuk on the way to the brig. It's obvious that Ryuk allowed him to escape just so they could take revenge on him." Sans blinks at Papyrus's words. The _Heryn_... isn't that the Eru ship Papyrus traded for? His brother teleported the two so they wouldn't die. Clever.

"actually, bro, they were with me. they didn't have time to set him loose." Sans confesses to save Ryuk from having to be stuck with Mettaton. Not even the brat deserves that. "i think what happened is that mettaton hunted them down and this was the only way they saw to escape him."

Papyrus grumbles but relents. "Fine. I will deal with them. You can bring them to my war room."

"i'm not gonna do that."

"Why not??"

"let's just say they did something really bad and i found out despite my own bro tryin' to _hide_ it from me." He's being a bit passive-aggressive, but Papyrus deserves it for lying to him. "and if i see them any time soon, i might _kill_ them."

The younger brother flinches guiltily. " _Fine_."

"me an' you are talking later." Sans continues sternly. Papyrus nods sharply in assent, scowling. Sans doesn't _like_ arguing with Papyrus, but he nearly always wins, which makes their disagreements a bit more enjoyable for him than they are for Papyrus, who despises losing.

Sans shortcuts to his quarters, where Asgore brews some tea. "Ah, bae. You look exhausted." Asgore gives him a fluffy hug. "Would you care for some?"

"yeah, sure." Sans relaxes in Asgore's presence, not worrying about anything that's happened, trying to forget the brat's existence, and enjoying his bae's fluffiness and skill with tea.

* * *

Frisk watches Gaer with jealousy beating in her chest. Asriel watches her watch the Rrkhir cooking. "Azzy??" Frisk cries shrilly.

"Yes, princess?" Asriel replies drily.

"I want to cook!" She says. "I want to make... hm. Spare ribs!"

"No ribs!" Gaer shrieks mournfully. "No meat! None! Shrimp, we have, but no meat!"

Frisk groans. " _Fuck_." Hasn't Papyrus been trading with aliens?? Where's all the meat?? She needs to make him get some meat before she dies a sad death. Oh!! Maybe she can get what's-their-name to help her... was it Luke? Fuck, she can't remember. Ugh, she probably shouldn't have had so much Klingon ale.

"You okay, Frisk?" Asriel asks with concern in his lovely leaf-green eyes. Frisk could get lost in that forest and she would never want to leave. She notices dimly that she's moved closer to his face and so she bats her lashes at him fetchingly. He shoves her head away and she pouts. "Hey. Frisky. Stay focused. Golly, you sure are a lightweight."

Why was Frisk drinking again...? She can't remember, but it was something. A bad dream, Chara suggests. Ah. Frisk has a lot of those. "Azzzzyyyy..." Frisk groans, dropping her head on Asriel's shoulder. "'mm dr-u-nk." She enunciates each phoneme.

"Golly, really? I couldn't tell." Asriel can be such a dummy sometimes. Frisk tells him this, or rather she tries to, in slurred words and cloudy judgement. Somehow in the proces of explaining, she finds her hand wrapping behind his head and her lips pressed on his. He tastes nice, she notes distantly. Like vodka and poor life choices, Chara thinks, disgusted.

Her face is violently hot when she breaks the kiss for air. Bracken stares at her with greed in his eyes. "You're drunk, Frisk." He says, as though fighting against his own desire.

"yyyeaaap-h. so kiss me~." Frisk giggles and then moans as Asriel obeys, locking her in a hungry embrace.

The moment is suddenly shattered when a pot hits Asriel on the head and his forehead bonks into Frisk's. "Ow!! What gives!!" He shrieks at Gaer.

" _Disgusting_ , take your courtship elsewhere!!" Gaer screeches at them, brandishing another pot. Frisk grumbles under her breath but grabs Asriel by the arm and drags him out of the mess hall, staggering as she walks.

"Frisk, do you-"

"Shsh-shut _up_." She growls. "We're making- heh heh, making Papyrus get ssome- _hic_ \- meat."

Asriel sighs and follows submissively. Heh. Frisk likes that adverb. She likes it paired with Asriel in particular. She wants to see him like this in bed, bound to a bar, maybe with a collar...

No! Focus! Meat! Frisk licks her lips. She could really go for some chicken... although she doubts the bird-creatures would approve of that. Or some beef, mm. She stops short suddenly with the horrible realization and Asriel crashes into her. "Azzzzyyy!!!" She wails. "There's no cows here!!"

"No, duh. We're in another fucking galaxy. I doubt there's any recognizable meats you could get."

"Waaaaaahhhhhhh!!!" Frisk shrieks and buries her head in Asriel's shoulder. He smells nice, like kudzu.

Asriel groans. "Okay, you're going to bed. You can bug Papyrus about the meat tomorrow."

Frisk continues to cry uncontrollably over the lack of meat. Asriel takes her hand and leads her back to her quarters. He tucks her in her bed and starts to leave. Frisk moans his name and he stops. His glamour really is very handsome, toned jaw, sharp cheekbones, platinum hair, copper skin with gold highlights, and brown lips that she wants to eat. She moans his name again. "Asriel~ don't go..."

"Fine." He scoffs and starts to get into bed with her. "But no sex until you're sober."

"Take off your glamour, Asriel... Let me see you." She caresses his neck, sliding her hand up to his ears where the green crystals dangle, glowing bright with his desire.

Asriel huffs and slips the earrings off, reforming into a boss monster formed of vines and flowers. "Happy?"

She pets his thick chest of writhing vines and leaves, pleased. "Yep!" She hiccups again.

"Go to sleep, moron." He says and nips her ear with his birch-teeth.

"Azzy..." Frisk says softly a few minutes later.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're my family."

"Me too, Frisk." He nuzzles her neck. "But about you."

* * *

Papyrus glares down at his rogue ensign. "YOU ARE IN _SO_ MUCH TROUBLE, RYUK." He snarls.

They grin coldly back. "Wonderful! Tell me something I _don't_ know."

"SANS HAS CONVINCED ME TO FORGO THE BRIG THIS ONCE." He tells them and they look surprised before dropping their gaze guiltily, their asshole persona slipping away as though a switch was flipped. "BUT YOU WILL SCRUB THE HULL OF MY SHIP UNTIL IT IS SPARKLING."

"Yes, sir." They say without complaint. "Sorry, sir."

"WHAT THE _HELL_ WERE YOU DOING OUT THERE?? WHAT WAS THE PLAN??"

"Death." They say bluntly. "He was supposed to die."

"AND WHAT ABOUT _YOU_??"

They spit unapologetically, "The same."

"STUPID!! FOOLISH!! _IDIOT_!!" Papyrus cuffs the back of their head harshly. "YOU HAVE NOT REPAID YOUR LIFE DEBT TO ME, SO UNTIL THEN YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DIE!!"

" _Sorry_." Their attitude creeps back out in that one sarcastic word.

"OKAY, _THAT'S_ IT, ONE MORE WORD FROM YOU AND I DON'T CARE WHAT SANS SAID, I'M TOSSING YOU IN WITH METTATON." Papyrus snarls. "YOU DON'T _GET_ TO TALK BACK TO ME. ARE YOU JUST DETERMINED TO SPIT ON MY MERCY?? IS THAT WHY YOU TRIED TO KILL YOURSELF??"

They purse their lips and look away, wearing a mask of anger. But he can see the guilt roiling underneath.

"Ryuk." He lowers his voice and gentles his tone. "Sans knows, doesn't he. But he still let you live. You're feeling terribly guilty about betraying me, as you should. Neither of us wants you to die, and I am even giving you a second chance to prove yourself and do better." Their eyes well with tears and they nod. "You may talk, but no more attitude or else." Papyrus relents.

"Yes, sir." They say and wipe their eyes with a vicious swipe. "I- I _deeply_ regret what I did."

"Good." Papyrus ruffles their fluffy hair. "You can change. Now go start scrubbing. I want the _Liltha'_ s hull to be shinier than an Ivren's beak!"

They stand up and pause. "C-can-" They start haltingly, obviously ashamed. "Can I please have a hug?"

Papyrus's cheekbones flush with heat. "N-NO, OBVIOUSLY NOT, NO HUGGING YOUR SUPERIOR OFFICER." He flusters, then regrets his answer. "WH-WHILE YOU'RE IN TROUBLE, THAT IS! ONCE THE HULL IS SCRUBBED TO MY SATISFACTION- I SUPPOSE I WILL ALLOW ONE HUG."

They nod, eyes starting to regain some of their old twinkle. "Thank you, sir, you are _most_ magnanimous." And they're joking, he knows, but the praise still warms him.

"Dismissed." Papyrus growls with hot cheekbones. They bow and leave. Sans appears almost as soon as they're out the door and Papyrus suppresses a flinch. This is not going to be any fun. Sans always wins their arguments. It's not fair.

"hey, bro."

"What did you do?" Papyrus asks in an exasperated tone, trying to gain the moral high ground before Sans can steal it and use it to thoroughly thrash him. When Sans fights, he fights dirty.

"i temporarily shunned them on pain of death if i see them." Sans tells Papyrus.

"Great." Papyrus groans. "And what am I supposed to do if I need you both on the bridge at once??"

"i guess they die, then." Sans winks and Papyrus indulges in the human tradition of facepalming, slapping his skull with his gloved hand. "heh, it's not that bad, bro. here, i'll say it's a truce on the bridge, as long as they don't talk to me."

"Fine." Papyrus accepts it.

"my turn. Papyrus, why the _hell_ did you lie to me??" Sans's sockets black out.

Papyrus glares at him. "That won't work on me, Sans." He lies snootily. "And I lied because I wanted to give them a clean slate so they can change."

"everyone should know, bro. you made them an _officer_. what about the other people they betrayed, huh??"

"As far as anybody has proof, Skoria tricked them into thinking that was the way out!" Papyrus snaps. "Nobody else knows they were betrayed! All they have is Skoria's word for it, which is unreliable. And don't pretend you care about the other people, Sans, we both know it was only me you were thinking of."

"don't flatter yourself, Papyrus." Sans growls. "justice demands that they pay for what they did."

"And they are!" Papyrus replies. "We both punished them."

"heh, you _hardly_ punished them."

"I am being very hard on them!! They can't get into as much trouble now that they are constantly under my supervision! And when they do!! I have the authority to discipline them!!"

Sans sighs. "you sure they'll change, though? didn't you see what they were doing with mettaton?? it was basically the same thing they did to you, maybe under a different context, but they haven't changed at all."

"I did! And I disciplined them for their foolish behavior!"

"nobody changes, Paps, they only learn to hide their old flaws and get new flaws. look at you. you're still trying to control people and thinking naively that it will make them become better somehow."

Papyrus hides the sting of his brother's words. "That's not fair, Sans." He growls. "Would you prefer I still be the same me as when we were Underground??"

"maybe if it meant you'd let everyone know the truth instead of hiding it, but no, you were always lying to me back then too. see, bro? you haven't changed a bit."

Papyrus feels a violent rage urging him to snarl terrible things, lash out verbally at Sans, maybe even physically. Years ago, he would have given into those urges. He turns and stalks out of the room, effectively losing the argument. Sans will be unbearably smug about it for weeks, rubbing the salt in Papyrus's wounds. But Papyrus holds onto the small hope that Sans might realize that while Papyrus may have lost the battle, he just won the war.


	15. But Act Like A Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is just a fluff chapter. *shrugs*

MK wakes up with a start, unbearably excited for some reason he can't think of at the moment. Wait- that's it! It's the anniversary!! It'll be a bittersweet one, for sure, but it's going to be fun to celebrate with so many other people, including Alliance and Andromeda aliens. The Rrkhir cook even gave the entire group from the Milky Way a name, _Gil-Mista_ , which means _Star Wanderers_ , apparently. It fits. MK wiggles happily. He's so excited to see what designs everyone comes up with.

OH!!! MK suddenly sits up, a spear of happiness piercing through his soul at the memory of what _else_ is happening today. Alphys will finally have MK's glamour finished!! He leaps out of bed, steadying himself with his tail. He had gone over all the details with her a week ago, telling her what he wants it to look like and feel like. Papyrus provided all the materials needed for it, including magic.

Alphys also finished Luon's ocular device a few days ago, but he only wears it sometimes, saying it hurts his head. MK's soul flutters at the hope that Luon will let him stroke the Ferengi's ears. According to the research he's done, that's foreplay among Ferengi. MK hasn't gotten to do anything more than hold Luon's hand with his tail and kiss him.

He staggers as he reaches his wardrobe, headache hitting him with all the tenderness of a sledgehammer. Urgh. He probably had a bit too much to drink at the party last night. Ryuk was there, they brought Rigellian wine, which MK thought was illegal but Ryuk assured him it wasn't, they got it perfectly legally. It was certainly delicious, though, and it didn't take much to make MK buzzed. Ryuk drank theirs mixed with sriracha, for some unworldly reason.

Even the pounding headache can't dull his happiness, though, as he buttons on his uniform with his magic. He's gotten more refined with it. He'll have to keep practicing it when he has the glamour.

He prances down the hall after taking a pill for the pain, heading for Alphys's quarters. Everyone he passes waves and greets him cheerily. There's a light spirit around the ship. It's hard to be bitter about being trapped in another galaxy when everyone is so sure of their Admiral's determination to move space and time itself to get them all home. Perhaps the Alliance crews don't share the same hope, but the Dragonfly fleet knows their admiral and trusts him.

Alphys opens the door and wipes her eyes groggily. "D-doctor MK?"

"Doctor Alphys!" MK exclaims happily. "Is it ready?"

"Y-yeah. Come on in."

Undyne laughs encouragingly when she sees MK's excitement. He grins back. He hasn't seen Frisk at all, but when he does, he's going to kill them for what they did to him, and Undyne has promised to help him.

"Back here, MK." Alphys leads him over to a table in the back. "I- I don't know if y-you'll like this, b-but I thought if I could make it so nobody could br-break it-"

MK stares at the syringe of crystal orange ink. "It- it's perfect." He breathes. "And my appearance?"

Alphys pulls up a picture on her pad. "Th-this is approximately what you'd look like, plus the tail and sp-spikes."

Euphoria buzzes in MK's soul. "Let's do it!" He cries.

"Wh-where do you want the tattoo?" MK decides he wants it on his shoulder, so Undyne sits him down and begins the prep. Undyne is the better artist of the two, so she'll be drawing the tattoo.

"Yo, when's your joining party?" MK asks as Undyne starts to inject the ink one dot at a time. 

"T-tomorrow." Alphys says, blushing.

"Awesome! You have to invite Frisk."

"I tho-thought-"

"So we can beat the fucker up!!" Undyne yells. "Ngah!! Excellent idea, punk."

"Focus on inking, yo." MK chastises her.

"Sorry, squirt!!" Undyne replies cheerfully.

When the tattoo, a stylized dragonfly, is done, MK frowns. He still doesn't look or feel any different.

"O-oh, you have to activate it." Alphys tells him. "Y-you can deactivate it too if you ever have to. Just tap it with your soul."

MK reaches out with his magic and taps the warm drawing on his shoulder. His body shudders and morphs painlessly, unlike his first transformation back when glamours were still experimental.

He stretches his hands out and stares at them, feeling the old rightness slip back into the limbs. "Wowie..." He breathes. Leaping up, MK hugs Alphys and Undyne, who hug him tightly back.

* * *

"Pleeeaasssee~" You kneel and clasp your hands before Dexi. "It has to work out!"

Dexi glares at you. "Shut it, brat. Aren't you supposed to be working??"

"But! It would be!! So cute!!!" You plead. "Plus, he's going to kill me if I don't get him a date by tonight, so you're literally my only hope!!"

Dexi groans and rubs her eyes. " _Ugh_. Fine. One date."

"Thank you!" You leap up, startling her into backing away. "I owe you one!"

"I have something you can do." Dexi says, crossing her arms.

"Anything!" You cheer happily.

"Don't let _anyone_ know." She says, looking away with embarrassed anger in her eyes. "Do that and I'll go on a date with him for free."

"Sure." You whisper. "This will be secret, a secret tryst."

"Don't call it that, idiot." She snaps.

"Okay." You sober. "Thank you, seriously, he was going to have my hide if I didn't find someone for him _soon_. And who knows, he's pretty fun to mess with, maybe you'll enjoy yourself." You wink.

"You're too free with him." She says stiffly. "Someone might think you intend to date him yourself. Or that you two are already fucking, since he gives you preferential treatment."

Your face and neck heat. "H-he does not!" You protest. "He made me scrub the _entire_ _ship_!!"

"He would have thrown anybody else into the brig for six months." She replies. "For a stunt like that. He's defending you against the rumors, too, even though I think he should stop wasting his time."

You hide your guilt. "Well- well, we're not a thing, so there." You mumble.

She raises an eyebrow. "You want that to be false, don't you."

"Wh-what??" You squawk, entire body heating in embarrassment. Stupid Human emotions. "N-no??"

Dexi sighs and shrugs. "Fine. Don't worry, I was guessing. I can't actually read you. It's annoying."

"Ohhh." You smirk. She groans and hides her face, muttering about how she really shouldn't have told you that. "Maybe we _are_ having a secret love... Maybe he just wants to see other people as well!" You grin innocently, knowing you're going to pay dearly for those words if Papyrus ever hears them.

Dexi huffs in unwilling amusement at that. "Fine, I guess you're alright. But I just have one question before I let you off the hook."

"Yeah?"

"What did you do on Skoria? Are the rumors true?"

"Skoria tricked us all." You tell her. "And it blamed me. Skoria was lying."

"Alright. Then why did Frisk tell me that the only weakness Skoria had was that it didn't know what deception was?" Dexi smirks in triumph.

"Easy, Lieutenant. It was lying about that, too." You reply with smooth aplomb. Heh. Skoria knew how to lie. You showed it how. Pain pricks you, you can't defeat anything now, you can't even guide yourself or others, not without-

"Huh. You are _good_." She says with detached admiration, the same kind of admiration one might have for a particularly clever thief. "I heard you were an excellent liar, I just wanted to see it for myself."

You gulp, realizing you may have celebrated your victory too soon. "Y-you-"

She grins, baring her teeth. "I lied, too."

"Shit." You say eloquently. "I fucked up, didn't I."

"You could say that." She smiles sweetly. "But I'm not going to tell anyone. Papyrus is protecting you for now so, as long as you stay in line, I'll keep your little secret. I'll even vouch for you. Until you fuck up again." Her eyes pierce you. "Do you know what Betazoids are capable of, _Human_?"

"Not a _Human_." You snarl, trying to ignore the despair reminding you that you're basically Human now without your cards, without your magic-

She places a hand on your chest. And agony tears through your soul. "Shh, don't scream." She murmurs and you grit your teeth, keening as the pain spears and claws, blazing in your chest with excruciating emotions. She removes her hand and you gasp for air, tasting copper in your mouth.

"That was only a taste of my power." She tells you sternly. "Betray us again and what you just felt will be magnified a hundredfold." Your body trembles like a leaf, the fiery memory of pain still lingering in your soul. She grips your chin and you flinch, but she only forces you to look at her. "Understand??"

"Ye-yes!" You rip out of her grasp and cross your arms sullenly. " _Fuck_ , you and Sans would get along well..."

Dexi smirks, pleased. "I think I'm going to have fun with you, ensign. Go get our date-night ready." You nod stiffly and then flinch as her hand shoots out to grab your arm. "When I give you an order, ensign, how should you respond??"

"Y-yes, sir!" You salute with your free hand quickly and she shoves you away.

"Better. But that's the wrong hand." She says with annoying smugness. "Other one."

You grumble but salute with the correct hand. "Yes, _sir_."

"Accepted." She says. "You are dismissed."

Having been thoroughly whipped, you stomp away in defeat.

* * *

The festivities last all day. Papyrus wanders his ship, smiling with a happiness he doesn't feel, bantering with a lightness that isn't real, and gazing through the viewports searching for the dot of light denoting their home galaxy with a heaviness he wishes he could get rid of. So far they've found no sign of any more anomalous wormholes, and Papyrus is starting to give in to the depressing thoughts telling him they'll never get home, telling him he should give up and just forge a new life in this galaxy. But he has so many people depending on him to get them all home. He can't disappoint them.

There's a weird noise in the jefferies tubes above the hall he's in. He could tell Se'Vir to investigate it, but it probably will turn out to be unimportant, maybe a couple of lovers. In any case, the jefferies tubes are not for messing around in. So he enters and follows the sound. It seems like- singing...? He turns a corner and gasps at the sudden open star-pricked space right before him. Then realizes he's not being sucked into it because there's transparent metal between him and the vacuum.

"Cool, isn't it." Ryuk says and Papyrus reforms his awed face into something rather sterner.

"You should not be back here."

"No choice." They laugh slightly, trying but failing to hide sadness. "You know about my punishment, don't you?"

"You have to avoid Sans... Oh." Papyrus realizes. Sans is the main event at the festival on this ship, constantly everywhere, pranking people, bantering, drinking his disgusting sriracha from the bottle... Yes, Papyrus sees why they'd need to hide in the jefferies tubes. "Fine. But I might be able to get him to allow a truce for today."

"Heh. Don't bother." They say. "He won't." Then they perk up. "Oh, I got you a date, too."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. Lieutenant Dexi agreed to go on a date with you as long as it was kept secret."

"Oh." Papyrus deflates. "She's not interested in me."

They look surprised. "She doesn't like you?"

"Oh, she likes me as a friend. But she doesn't want to date me."

"Why not?" They sound honestly confused. "You two are compatible, and seem to be friends."

"Yes, well, she's not _attracted_ to me. In that way." Papyrus's cheekbones flush slightly. "She prefers... other aliens. Vulcans, actually. She's had her eyes on Lieutenant-Commander Se'Vir for a while now."

"Damn it." They mutter. "I guess I get roasted now, huh. I completely failed to find any datemate for you."

"Precisely, we will skewer you and roast you slowly over coals and then eat you as an appetizer!!" Papyrus cuffs them gently. "You fool, I was only ever bluffing."

They stare at him in shock. "Y-you were??"

"I don't kill people, Ensign Ryuk, unless absolutely necessary." Papyrus replies haughtily. "I help them become better. You know, for a serial liar, you certainly aren't very good at telling when other people are lying to you."

"Most peoples' interactions with me have been honest threats and insults, so I've never really had any reason to learn." Ryuk says, then pats the space beside themself.

Papyrus has nothing better to do, and he feels sick at the thought of engaging with more people, so he sits next to them and gazes into the vast expanse of space. "Beautiful." He murmurs after a few minutes of shared silence.

"That's for sure." They say. He glances at them only to realize with a flush of heat that they're staring at him with serious eyes. Then they wink.

"Were you _flirting_ with me??" Papyrus flusters.

"Ha, you _wish_." They reply jauntily.

"N-no, _you_." Papyrus makes an intentionally bad comeback and they laugh with free abandon, throwing their head back. A light warmth blooms in his soul, making him forget the despair for a moment.

"I'm supposed to be preparing your date-night." They say after they've sobered. "But if it's gonna be a bust, should I even bother?"

"I have a _better_ idea." Papyrus grins. "I'm supposed to judge paintings in a few minutes, but you can do this on your own. Ensign Ryuk, you are going to set up Se'Vir and Dexi!"

They snap a salute cheerfully, "Consider it done!" Then drop it. "Do I have permission to go to extreme lengths?" They ask with a nervous smirk.

"How extreme?" Papyrus plays along, anything to keep himself distracted.

"Like, hack into the intercom system to play mushy music extreme."

Papyrus wishes he had eyes so he could roll them. "Fine. Just for today, permission is granted."

"You're being awfully nice." They snark.

" _You're_ being awfully _insubordinate_." Papyrus replies, grinning wickedly at them. "Do I need to be more severe, ensign??"

One hand flinches to clutch their chest, but they grin and shake their head in surrender. "I'm not complaining, just slightly weirded out."

"Nyeh heh..." Papyrus cackles, trying to push away the dark despair at the edge of his soul. "I-" The despair pounds at the gates. He's been shoving it away, hiding it, trying to stamp it out, but nothing works, nothing will save him from the inexorable fact that they're all _trapped_ and they can't go home. A vise clamps on his ribs and skull, and it tightens so that he's choking.

"I always thought you were an asshole, y'know." They say distantly, but the sound of their voice is slightly soothing. "But... I think you just act that way to keep everything under control when you're stressed. Right now you're trying to run away from the stress, so you're letting go of more control, so you're nicer."

"What are you, a therapist??" Papyrus speaks stiffly, struggling to form words as tears start to sting in his sockets.

"Counsellor. Unofficially the _official_ ship's counsellor for two years, but officially the unofficial ship's counsellor for, oh, around four." They grin innocently. "Gives me an excuse to tell people what I really think and pass it off as helping them. I can't actually diagnose anybody, but I'd say you're having a panic attack. Keep breathing, that'll help."

"You- are a _terrible_ \- counsellor." Papyrus chokes on tears, his soul pounding in his skull.

"Is it okay if I touch you?" They ask. He shakes his head frantically, violent mistrust erupting in his ribcage beside rage and fear and grief. "Okay. Tap a finger to the rhythm and focus on breathing." And they start to sing a popular chanty, awkwardly at first but gaining strength.

Papyrus remembers his old therapist used to do something similar to calm him down. He hasn't had a panic attack in so long, he'd forgotten what they felt like. He obeys Ryuk's command, breathing in and out shakily, glaring at the ground, and tapping a finger to the rhythm of the folk song. Gradually the strong emotions die down and the pulsing of his soul returns to a normal rate.

"Better?" They ask.

"Yes." He growls. "If you _ever_ mention this to _anyone_ -"

"Sans or Dexi will torture me to death, depending on who gets there first." They say drily. "My money's on Sans, but Dexi's pretty scary too."

Papyrus chooses to not dwell on the fact that apparently Dexi knows now too. "I suppose that's worse than what I was going to say." He grumbles.

They look away guiltily. "Er. I don't think I ever- thanked you properly... for lying to everyone."

"Don't." Papyrus replies, annoyed. "Or I'll stop."

They nod quickly. "Okay."

Papyrus sits in silence for a minute longer, then stands. "You have your orders, ensign. Good day." He has to judge designs.

They salute and grin at him. "Thanks, sir."

"For _what_??" He growls warningly.

"For getting that cactus outta your pelvis and having some fun." They wink. "Maybe I should even invite you to a party next time."

Papyrus's cheekbones flush at their crude imagery. "I- I do not-" He grumbles, then quickly turns and stomps away.

* * *

Frisk chomps on some weird Eru meat which Papyrus had mercifully bartered for and Gaer had cooked beautifully. It doesn't taste like chicken, or spare ribs. Frisk thinks it might taste like pork, but Chara disagrees. Asriel smirks at her as she gobbles it down. "You know what else we need?" She says with her mouth full. "Oranges. Or lemons. Some kind of citrus for vitamin C."

Asriel scoffs. "We have plenty of vitamin C from taking the actual _vitamin_."

Frisk pouts with puffed out cheeks, then swallows to make the pout _super_ _effective_. "But I want _oranges_!"

Asriel pats her head. "I don't think this galaxy has oranges." He tells her bluntly. She bats her eyelashes sadly at him.

Music starts to play from the intercom. Mushy old music, from centuries ago. The other people in the mess hall around Frisk laugh or groan or curse, depending on their feelings about that sort of thing. Asriel stands up and offers a hand to Frisk. Frisk's face heats. "Really??"

"What better time?" Asriel winks and grabs her arm, pulling her up to stand with him.

Frisk is a good dancer. She's had years to practice. Asriel is a phenomenal dancer. Together, they slip into an easy rhythm and weave expertly around the mess hall, between tables. A few people cheer. Others join the two. Frisk's heart soars as she focuses on the beat and on Asriel's eyes.

The song changes, and with it, the dance changes too. People drag the tables out of the way and start clapping. The Ivren crew members start to warble and sing along with the music, picking up the catchy lyrics and tune easily.

Frisk spins and falls into Asriel's arms. She sees all around herself people grinning, laughing, dancing, cheering. Everyone is having a good time. Even Sans and Asgore are dancing a really old-fashioned dance, a _salsa_ she thinks it's called.

A distorted voice speaks over the intercom, the music fading to fill the background, * _Heya, everybody! Thank the Admiral for letting us do this!_ * A wild cheer goes up for Papyrus.

* _I have some special prizes to give out. Let's see, if your name is Lieutenant-Commander Se'Vir, come up to the bridge for further instruction. Ummm... and Lieutenant Dexi, go to the cargo bay for the same! Thanks, folks, music will resume in three- two- one-*_ The music fades back in and everyone starts to dance again. Frisk gives Asriel a sultry look and throws herself into his arms. He catches her with a passionate kiss, spinning her around. Frisk blissfully hopes this day never ends.

* * *

Undyne dances fiercely to the beat of the music playing over the intercom while Alphys attempts awkwardly to keep up. "Fuhuhu!!"

"Sl-slow down." Alphys complains. Undyne huffs but listens. "We should t-totally find the mixer and t-tell them to play some for our party!" Undyne hums and spins Alphys around, dipping and then smooching her, then abruptly drops her onto the bed. Alphys squirms, hoping Undyne means to have sex, but Undyne only pulls on a uniform instead. "Wh-where are you going?"

"Papyrus promised me command of a ship if I defeat him!! I've been training and today I'm gonna whip that arrogant bitch's ass!!"

"Can I watch?" Alphys leaps off the bed, excited.

"Of course!!" Undyne makes a fist. "Watch me thrash him into the dirt!!"

The lovers head to the gym and Alphys watches with burning lust as her wife stretches her toned muscles, her skin rippling over them. Undyne notices and makes a show of exercising, accentuating each powerful move.

Papyrus enters but Alphys barely acknowledges him, focused on Undyne. He groans. "Undyne, stop showing off!!"

"Says the pot to the kettle!!" She laughs back but stops exercising and hops into the sparring ring. "Same as last time?"

Papyrus smirks and produces two rattan swords. "As you wish."

"FUHUHU!!" Undyne laughs violently. "I'm gonna THRASH you!! The shame will be so great, you won't be able to show your face for a whole week!!"

"We'll see about that!!" Papyrus grins and leaps lightly into the ring, handing her a sword with a flourish. The two fighters step back and make cool poses. And then they slip into motion suddenly.

Alphys can't keep track of the chaotic motion in front of her, but she thinks Undyne is winning- and then Papyrus steps back, pleased, and Undyne curses, her sword having twisted out of her hand. "One to me." Papyrus says smugly.

"Oh, you haven't won yet, asshole." Undyne grins and grabs her sword up, then attacks without warning. More chaotic motion as Papyrus is forced back, and then it's his turn to curse and rub his ribcage where she landed a strike. "One for me, fuhuhu!"

"Next one wins." He says grimly. The two circle each other warily, sizing their opponent up like wolves fighting for dominance.

The next flurry of chaos lasts for a good minute. Alphys can't tell which one is winning, they both look so cool, but Undyne of course is totally hot.

Undyne's sword does a little twist around Papyrus's and he dodges away as he's disarmed with a flick of her wrist. She strikes his arm. "Two!!" She cheers. "Fuhuhu, now who needs practice, huh, punk??"

Papyrus takes the good-natured ribbing with a growl and a scowl. Alphys always found him slightly scary, but Undyne told her once that his spiky edginess hides marshmallows inside. She giggles at him, euphoric with her wife's victory.

"I want the _Heryn_." Undyne tells him.

"Done." Papyrus replies and shakes her hand firmly. "She's all yours, Captain."

Undyne leaps out of the ring and lifts Alphys in a tight bear hug.

"We're starting the painting soon." Papyrus says. "If you want to go down to your ship and help your crew out."

Undyne lets out a thrilled battlecry and drags Alphys to the ship bay to get in a runabout. The two head for the _Heryn,_ exchanging victory kisses. Alphys notices a thick purple nebula outside the viewport and points it out as a beautiful phenomenon. Undyne kisses her again, and Alphys pushes the weird wiggling sense of the nebula moving closer as being just an illusion.

* * *

You watch the stars from your secret hiding place in the jefferies tubes. Dexi and Se'Vir have been given breadcrumbs that they could choose to follow to have a good time with each other, or they might not, it doesn't matter to you at the moment. Everyone will be painting right now. You can't join them, for fear of Sans showing up. It kind of hurts that you have to miss the celebration, but you're glad you helped everyone have a bit more fun.

A lovely purple nebula comes into view. But that's odd. Unless the ship is moving, it shouldn't be coming any closer, and certainly not this fast. The ship isn't moving, though, you can feel that the engines are only keeping her steady in space relative to the other ships in the fleet, a move called manual floating, or man-flow.

The nebula continues to approach, growing larger and larger. Nervous alarms blare in your head.

You leap up and run to the console you were using earlier to hack into the coms system. Activate a comlink to all the ships in the fleet and say frantically, "Red alert, Red alert!! All hands to battle-stations, prepare for evasive maneuvers, and get us the hell away from that nebula!!" Then you run to the bridge, hoping beyond hope it's only a false alarm that Papyrus will discipline you for when he finds out.

* * *

Ryuk's voice echoes through the fleet, startling everyone from their revelries and sending each ship into a flurry of chaos. Papyrus controls the chaos from the _Liltha_ 's bridge, and sends drones to investigate the nebula as the fleet moves out of its projected path.

The drones black out as soon as they enter the nebula. As the entire fleet maneuvers, Papyrus is struck by a sudden spike of fear- the nebula changes course to follow them. How is he supposed to fight star matter?? He stares at it as it picks up speed and Suzy calls out numbers denoting its distance.

Ryuk drops into the bridge from the jefferies tube and Dexi enters at the same moment, Se'Vir beside her. "Dexi, open a link!! All channels!! Try to contact whatever that thing is!" Papyrus commands. "Ryuk, stand by to translate."

Both salute and go to their seats. Sans appears next to Papyrus and Ryuk flinches, ducking their head down to be more inconspicuous."what's wrong, bro?"

"We are being chased by what appears to be a nebula." Papyrus replies, trying to control the frantic beating of his soul. He's never been prepared for the eventuality of facing something he can't physically fight.

Suzy calls out with a shaking voice, "Three thousand kilometers and falling."

"Tell everyone to go into warp!" Papyrus orders. "We'll retreat to the planet Dream."

"bro-"

"Not now, Sans." Papyrus snaps. "Warp in five- four- three- two- one-"

Everyone is thrown off balance as the ship leaps into warp. Papyrus steadies himself with his magic. The ship shudders as multiple warp bubbles are close by. Normally, a fleet would not warp all at once, but this is hardly a normal situation.

And then the ship spins out of the warp bubble, struck. The other ships also careen dangerously out of warp into the same area of space, all together, thankfully- but the nebula is right on their tail and firing mini-stars at them. "Evasive maneuvers!!" Papyrus orders.

"We can't, they hit our dynamic rockets!" Jazz shrieks. "Our brake system is failing too, but we still have the main engines and rockets up and running."

"Shields, then!" Papyrus rarely has occasion to waste energy on shields.

"It won't work." Suzy growls. "I already had shields up when we went into warp."

" _Shit_." Ryuk mutters.

"Dexi?? Can you contact it??"

"There's nothing I can connect the channel to, sir!" She replies, looking at him helplessly.

"All ships, fire at will on the nebula!" Papyrus says desperately. "And for the love of Rifli, keep retreating!!"

"Nothing seems to be working, sir." Suzy reports after a good five minutes of lasers and torpedoes and railguns. "It's... still following us... and it's getting faster. Two thousand kilometers and falling."

Papyrus feels tears stinging his sockets. He's never faced an enemy who could take them out without a second thought before. He's always been the stronger and smarter. Defeat was always out of the question. But now- now what?

Ryuk sits up suddenly. "Sir. She's talking to me."

"Tell her to stop chasing us!!"

They turn their head and cock it at a weird angle, staring with blank eyes at Papyrus, who gets a chill down his spine. "Interesting. You are afraid. Fear is temporary. Fear will become love. Love lasts forever." They sag suddenly like puppet strings were cut. "Sir- that wasn't me..." Their voice shakes.

Dexi scoffs. "We can't trust you." They flinch. "Papyrus, Ryuk is just messing with you."

"I- I wish I was." They mutter, hand going to their pocket, then wincing back with a grimace and a bitter glance at Sans.

Dexi frowns, then her eyes widen. "Shit." She breathes. "I didn't say that!"

"Wow, really??" They snap sullenly, then wince with an apologetic look at Papyrus. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I." Papyrus says.

"this stinks of mind-control." Sans says.

Se'Vir steps forward, phaser in hand, and fires at Dexi's console. Then he staggers back, shock in his eyes. "N-no!" The Vulcan cries.

The nebula swallows the ship as it's thrown into chaos. Papyrus stands in the center of the maelstrom, helpless at the sudden loss of all control. Everything goes dark. Everything goes silent. Papyrus sways dizzily. He slumps to the floor as needles pierce his mind and inject eerily soothing words. And then he loses track of time as unconsciousness wraps him in its hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...=) yup. all fluff.
> 
> EDIT: Okay so I realized I may have made a big mistake. I never made anybody actually emotionally invested in returning home to the Milky Way, which is kinda supposed to be the entire fucking plot, so yeah, I made a pretty big mistake there, lol. I will try to retcon that and add reasons for people to want to go home later, probably before the ending. Also the foreshadowing for the next enemy could have been done better.  
> I have a lot of things that need to be revised, honestly, so before I get to the climax I might go through and try to fix everything, that way it flows better. This is basically just the first draft, lol, so please forgive me for all my mistakes :D thanks, y'all, for sticking with me!!


	16. all die once they're in my line of sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we reached 300 hits, yay!!! I'm betting I won't get more than 500 by the time this ends ;P oh well, I love all my readers, you're all wonderful, thank you for giving my dumb ~~read: totally epic lol~~ story a chance ;P

Sans wakes up to the sound of weeping. He groans and pushes himself to his feet, staring around at the empty bridge.

Nearly empty, that is. Ryuk kneels beside the captain's chair, crying. Sans growls low in his throat and they look up at him with a crazed grin. For a moment, he sees Frisk instead of them.

"fine. truce while we're in this mess, kay, kid?" He offers. Ryuk keeps sobbing- wait, _laughing_. Sans strides over to them and they point to the chair, _laughing_. Papyrus's scarf lies on the chair-

It's covered in dust.

Sans blacks out.

The laughter continues.

He wakes up on the floor. Frisk stands in the center of the bridge, and Papyrus in front of her. He offers her a hug. Snow flurries around him. "bro-" Sans warns.

Papyrus's head falls off. He turns to dust. Frisk turns to Sans with a knife in her hand, blood pouring from her eyes and mouth. She holds the knife to Ryuk's throat, the kid's eyes wide with terror. _Slash_. Ryuk shatters into dust.

" _P_ - _Paps_ -... _kid_ -..." Sans sobs out. _Fade to black_.

Frisk stands before him, knife in hand, and music plays as golden light filters through dusty air. She slashes through Papyrus's ribs and he screams as Sans stands frozen. She stabs Ryuk's eyes out and they scream as Sans stands frozen. He stands frozen, unable to act, unable to protect, _no. He stands frozen because he won't act, he won't protect._

Sans screams.

* * *

Soft music hums in the background. Frisk wipes her eyes blearily and gazes up at the dim pinprick of light above her. _Shit_. She recognizes this. The vines hang down around her as she walks through the dark tunnel to where-

"Howdy!" Flowey bobs his head happily. "Did you really think you could escape me, Frisk?"

"Asriel-" Frisk starts, but then flinches as Asgore steps out of the shadows. "Dad?"

"Did you really think you could kill all my subjects and get away with it, Frisk?" Asgore asks gravely.

Frisk laughs. "That's the game, silly!"

Toriel emerges, floating on a pillow of fire. "Did you think you could abandon me??"

Undyne emerges behind Frisk. "Fuhu, thought you could escape _justice_ , did you, punk??"

Sans steps forward, holding a dusty red scarf. "Did you think I'd forgive you, _dirty brother killer_??"

The furious monsters descend on Frisk, who desperately tries to plead with them.

The first death is relatively quick.

The next one, not so much.

And the third one, they're just having fun dragging it out, seeing how loudly they can make her scream.

* * *

The first thing you're aware of is the soft blankets wrapped around you, the firm mattress beneath you. The second is that you're choking on terror as shouting voices approach. The voices curse the _wrong_ name and order you to come out. You uncurl slowly, unwillingly. "D-dad... Papa..." You mutter, afraid to look up, wanting to cover your ears and hide.

They keep yelling. They tell you what a disappointment you are. You're weak, a failure. Your Human side was supposed to make you powerful, was supposed to give a beneficial mutation to the species. But even when they killed and rezzed you to unlock your potential, you failed to show any signs of magical ability. Weak. Useless. Mutt.

Your dad lashes you with a metal switch. You submit to the blows. Crying only makes it worse.

Your mom enters the room and you close your eyes and cover your ears as she sobs, begging you to forgive her, promising she'll change, she won't be fake anymore. Your papa shouts at you to accept her apology, to forgive her. You obey, lying.

It's silent. You're alone. Papyrus stands before you, staring you down with hatred in his sockets. "A-admiral-" You choke, reaching out your hand.

"You never changed." He utters the judgement and his words explode like bombs around you, shattering the ground so that you fall. Close your eyes and feel the wind whistling through your hair. Except there is no wind. _Papyrus would never say that. You're dreaming_.

The dream tries to strangle you, wind snatching the breath from your lungs, but you don't need air. You never needed air. Wings sprout from your shoulderblades and you fly up, racing through chaotic scenes, pathetic attempts to torture you. You crash through the ceiling and fall into a lake.

* * *

Ever since Papyrus accidentally found tentacle rape porn in Alphys's stash of things he thought were just baby cartoons, he's had a phobia of anything with long slimy appendages. Which is why he immediately realizes as soon as he wakes up underwater wrapped in writhing tentacles that he's dreaming. He draws his talwar and slashes the beast to shreds. A splash alerts him to the presence of another beast; he stalks it and then slices through the veil of blood and viscera.

Ryuk shrieks, cowering. "D- _dude_!!" They choke. "You nearly killed me!"

Papyrus sheathes his talwar. "Report!" He demands, taking comfort in the slight modicum of control. He's totally not jealous they have wings. Not at all.

"I think the nebula trapped us in nightmares." They say. "We can get out, though. We just need to wake up."

"Any clue as to what the purpose is?"

"No, sir." They say, frowning. "But I think it might have been a trap."

"Oh," Papyrus slaps his face sarcastically, "A _trap_ , whyever didn't _I_ think of that??"

Ryuk rolls their eyes. "I mean the nebula was set out as a trap for people passing by. Either that or it was guarding something we weren't supposed to approach. Right now, it's probably just keeping us occupied until the creators come."

Papyrus sighs, trying to let go of the stressed panic edging in. He knows he's more of an asshole when he's stressed. He can't afford to aggravate his companion this time. "Sorry." He grunts tersely.

"Cactus-butt." They reply, a wicked smirk on their face, then morph into an Ivren and fly away as he screeches his rage after them."Just try to catch me!" They call.

Papyrus's soul fills with fury as wings explode from his back and propel him after his insubordinate ensign. He chases them down, and smothers the realization that they meant to goad him.

They smash through the surface of the water and he's right behind them as both break through the boundary of his dream and enter another.

* * *

MK slashes through the hordes of enemies, roaring as he leads the charge on a black horse. Luon canters on a palomino beside him, howling Ferengi words that MK can only guess the meaning of as his daggers slice through the enemies' throats. The mass of enemies finally subsides until all that's left is a field of bodies and blood. MK stares, entranced by Luon's golden eyes. Luon grins wickedly, showing off his pointy teeth. "Where to next, prince?"

MK's face heats. "Yo, I suppose we'd better find the others, huh." He says. Luon nods, trotting his horse up close to MK's and taking the Fae's hand. They leap off their horses together and rocket for the sky, crashing through the clouds.

They're in the Underground, MK realizes, in the cave where the ex-queen supposedly buried her first child. Screams echo from the tunnel. MK shares a look with Luon, who forms a phaser and takes point, running quietly towards the dreamer.

In the next cave, Frisk lays curled on the ground, with mirages stabbing them repeatedly as they wail. MK steps forward and slashes through the illusions with his sword, shattering them. Frisk's wails subside to whimpers. "M-MK...?" She pleads. "D-don't kill me..." 

MK sneers at her. "I don't _kill_ , Frisk. Get up. We're going to rescue everyone."

Frisk wipes her eyes. "I- I rescued everyone, too." She mumbles. "This is no different. I'll be everyone's hero..."

"You're _nobody's_ hero." MK snaps. "Get up, you pathetic weasel."

"Aren't you being rather harsh?" Luon voices his concern.

MK glares at him. "This bitch destroyed my glamour and killed all my friends and indirectly got us trapped in another galaxy, I think I have the _right_ to be a _bit_ pissed off."

Luon raises his hands in surrender. "I see. In that case, Frisk, _fuck you very much_."

"Exactly." MK exclaims, pleased. "Get up, Frisk, we're going."

Frisk pouts. "I saved everyone from Skoria... doesn't that count for something??"

" _Dexi_ saved everyone." MK corrects. "And _Papyrus_ destroyed it. Ryuk says they helped, but I dunno what to believe from that idiot. _You_ didn't do anything except get yourself captured."

Frisk starts to cry. MK groans. " _Okay_ , that's it. You can go _try_ to save everyone by yourself, while me and Luon will _actually_ save everyone."

* * *

Angels float before Sans, holding out their hands and talking in concerned voices. He tries to warn them. He tries to tell them Frisk is right there, about to stab through them.

The angel who looks like Papyrus draws his brother's signature physical weapon, a talwar, and slashes the air beside Sans, who tumbles forward, gasping for breath.

"b-bro-" Sans takes Papyrus's hand, hardly daring to believe it.

"It's a dream." The other angel, who appears to be an Ivren, says in a low voice, keeping their head down.

"k-kid? Papyrus?" Sans collapses into Papyrus's arms and reaches out for the shapeshifted Ryuk. They hang back, averting their eyes. "kid, c'mon, we're dreaming. truce?"

"Tr-truce." They give assent but still remain a few feet away.

Papyrus huffs. "Just join the goddamned hugfest already if it'll make Sans feel better." Ryuk smiles hesitantly and joins, shifting back to mostly-Human form, plus scaly wings.

"thanks, bro." Sans mumbles. "i- i'm sorry..."

"For what??"

"for never protecting you." Sans shrinks as painful fear and guilt consume his soul.

"Sans." Papyrus says patiently. "I don't need protecting. I can take care of myself perfectly well enough. I don't need you fighting my battles for me."

"couldn't protect you or the kid from skoria..." Sans growls. Ryuk cringes and Sans pats their back. He'll return to being mad at them when this is over, but for now, after having been forced to watch both of them die over and over again, it's nice to feel both of his siblings nearby.

"Sans, what happened in Skoria is not your fault, and there is nothing anybody could have done to stop it. We would have encountered it eventually, even without timey-wimey stuff complicating things." Papyrus soothes. "If you want to feel useful, you can come with us and help us rescue everyone else."

"okay, bro. you're the best." Sans says, the praise slipping easily from his soul as he steps back, ending the hug. 

"What am I??" Ryuk pipes up cheekily, then slaps their hand over their mouth with a look of regret.

Sans gives them a stern look, hiding his fondness. "you are a _brat_ , that's what _you_ are, kiddo."

"Fair." They laugh lightly. "C'mon, Sans, it's a dream, you should get wings too."

"nah, too much work." He snaps his fingers and a gaster blaster forms. Ryuk yelps, then glares at the ground. "c'mon, ryuk, it's a dream." He goads them with a wicked glint in his grin. "get on."

"I'd rather not." They reply stiffly and leap into the air. Papyrus follows after them with a confused glance between them and Sans. Sans sits on his blaster and it carries him up after the two and into the next dream.

* * *

As MK and Luon save more and more people from their nightmares, groups form and split off to more efficiently rescue the other dreamers. There seems to be no logic or rationale to the layout of the dreamscape, which makes sense if it's purely mental. But that means as well that there seems to be no way to wake up and escape the dream completely. In this dream, _knowing_ only makes it lucid, pain is par for the course, and dying is ineffective as well.

It's Kal'bun who first suggests a different form of stimulation, one the dream isn't able to replicate, such as a taste or smell. It's Luon who takes it to the extreme of suggesting they kiss and see if pleasure works. MK agrees to try it, with a witness to tell everyone else if it succeeds. Kal'bun offers and M'rer tags along, so the four go into a forest dreamscape alone.

MK frowns into the kiss. He can't feel any arousal. He tries to feel the heat of passion. Sluggish awareness stirs in the back of his mind. Then pain arcs through his body and he's thrown back. Luon sits up from where he was also tossed away like a rag-doll. "Odd." He says. "The dream felt us waking up and stopped us."

"Fuck." MK curses. "How are we supposed to escape, then??"

"Perhaps if we overwhelmed it." Luon suggests. "If we got everyone-"

MK's face heats. "Y-you _aren't_ suggesting we tell everyone to-"

"What?? No." Luon replies with darkening cheeks. "Of course not. There are types of pleasure other than _sexual_ , Mil-Gwedh."

"Can we do it again, actually?" MK has an idea. "I want to try something."

Luon frowns suspiciously. "What?"

MK looks down and scuffs the ground with a foot. "I- I want to touch your ears."

Luon's cheeks turn black with his blush. "I- okay." He consents. "That's okay."

MK approaches Luon and caresses the Ferengi's neck with his hands, pulling Luon's face close to his in a soft kiss. As the two explore each other's mouths, MK's hands wander up to Luon's wide round ears. Luon moans into the kiss and MK feels a burst of heat, awareness activating. He strokes the soft cartilage gently and Luon nips his tongue.

Pain bursts in his body but he holds onto Luon, who grips him as well, the two passionately embracing. " _See ya_." MK gasps and sits up on the cold metal floor of the _Liltha_ , lit only by the flickering of emergency lighting.

He rushes to the comlink in the sick bay and speaks through the intercom, "Yo, if anybody is awake, meet me in the sick bay. I'm gonna try to wake others up." He grabs an injector of something to wake people up and goes to one of his nurses.

* * *

Kal'bun stares at the crackling vortex of leaves and tree-trunks where Luon and MK had been standing just a moment ago. "M'rer!" She warns as the Cardassian steps towards it.

M'rer looks back with a smirk. "Test." She says.

Kal'bun growls but then nods sharply. "Fine."

M'rer steps in and is torn apart with a scream. Kal'bun grinds her teeth, hiding her nervousness. M'rer doesn't return, but she could just be stuck in another dream-dimension. Whatever the case, it's a possible way out, so she runs through the dreams to notify everyone.

The admiral, his brother, and his lover fly down from the clouds of one dream and Kal'bun salutes stiffly. The three seem to be civil at the moment, but M'rer told her there was infighting recently over the admiral's lover. She doesn't want to get in the middle of it. "Sir. There's a potential way out in dream four-seven-two." Luon came up with the names, they're pretty intuitive based on the dreams' locations.

The admiral nods. "Very good, we will try to find more people."

"It wasn't me, sir. It was Commander Luon and Doctor MK who made a way out." Kal'bun reports.

"Thank you all the same, Lieutenant." The admiral says and leaps into the air-- his brother riding on a dragon skull beside him-- before Kal'bun can protest that she's only an ensign and subsequently realize she just got promoted.

"Sir!!" M'rer tested it!! She should be rewarded!" Kal'bun calls after him.

"I'll tell him about Mirror." His lover- wait, that's _Ryuk_. How'd that bastard-?? "Sound good, Carbon?"

Kal'bun laughs and steps forward in a mock threat. "Yeah? You better, unless you want to feel my bat'leth!"

They leap into the air after the admiral and his brother with a jaunty wave. "Today is a _terrible_ day to die!!" 

"Yeah?? Fuck you too, petaQ!!" Kal'bun shouts cheerfully after them.

* * *

Undyne shouts her battlecry as she battles on the fronts of the more hostile dreamscapes, Alphys at her back and a troop of other dreamers following her orders. Somebody needs to keep the nightmares from encroaching on the areas that have already been altered to more pleasant dreams.

One of her soldiers is a powerful lucid dreamer, able to form whatever he wants. He's riding a flying wolf, firing a machine gun into the endless ranks of nightmares. "Se'Vir!! Mecha!!" Undyne shouts.

The Vulcan groans but complies. A giant mecha forms piece-by-piece around Undyne as Alphys shrieks with excitement.

Undyne fires her lasers and stomps through the enemies, crushing them, and she smashes them with her giant metal hands. "Alphys!!!" Her voice comes out distorted and metallic. "Look!!! It's just like in your animes!!!"

Alphys faints as blood sprays from her nostrils. Fuhu, exactly like the animes. Undyne frowns. Wait. Why is there an arrow if she fainted from exposure to pure awesomeness?? "Bitch, wake up!"

"I'm _shot_ , you fucking idiot!!" Alphys sits up and shrieks, the arrow hanging from her nose, and then she promptly sways and falls over again.

Undyne shrugs and kills the yeoman who fired at her wife. "Okay, Al, you're safe now."

Alphys shatters into dust. Undyne screams and clomps over to the pile. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

"Heh." Alphys appears on top of the mecha. Undyne shrieks angrily. "Gotcha. But you c-coulda put a bit more pain into that anguished scream..."

Undyne growls. "You know what this mecha would be _great_ for, Al??"

Alphys teleports to across the battlefield, forms dual-wielding swords, and slashes her way through the hordes. Undyne shouts, "SPANKING YOU, THAT'S WHAT!!" Alphys's muzzle goes from yellow to red in point zero zero one seconds.

"You deserved it!!" She shrieks back and buries one sword to the hilt in an enemy's chest. "You fake-died first!!"

Undyne shrugs, stomping on a horde attempting to shoot at her. "I mean, I'd be willing to let you have the first turn."

" _Ladies_ , would you _please_ fOCUS ON THE _ENEMIES_ INSTEAD OF ON _SCREWING_ EACH OTHER FOR _ONE_ SOLID MINUTE???" Se'Vir screeches. Huh, she didn't know the Vulcan had it in him to be that annoyed.

* * *

Finally, everyone is awake and accounted for. Papyrus sits on the bridge and considers his options. Their engines are down and they need to be repaired. The coms system is down. Shields don't work. And nobody knows what will happen if the nebula awakens again, as right now it seems dormant and harmless, besides having the entire fleet trapped inside itself. Papyrus hasn't forgotten the scary ease with which it took over his crews' bodies.

Ryuk stands beside him, Sans behind, Dexi and his other officers at their stations, all waiting for his orders. Papyrus's soul swells with proud hope. They escaped the nightmares together. They'll escape this too. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...is this fluffy enough for ya? ;P
> 
> question: would anybody object to rather graphic spiciness (xeno/bdsm) in the next chapter between Alphys and Undyne...? I can change it to a 'fade to black' or I can leave it in. It just sorta. happened.
> 
> also i finished said next chapter, it's honestly all fluff (with aforementioned spiciness), if you guys want me to post it early. or i can wait a couple days.
> 
> (also, if anybody has any criticism, I'm open to hearing those, I just won't change anything until after I finish the first draft. I'm kinda confused as to why more people aren't reading this ~~(bit arrogant of me, really, thinking anybody would want to read this)~~ , honestly, but it's probably because i'm doing something wrong and I just can't figure out what. ~~i'm terrified of disappointing everyone~~ )


	17. Who Doesn't Know Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> warning for ~xeno sex/bdsm~. it's the very last section, and there are red asterisks marking the beginning, so if you don't want to read it you can skip to the bottom.

Undyne stands in the bridge of the _Heryn_ and directs her crew as they slowly ease through the nebula, using short spurts of impulse. The hull slips through the edge of the nebula. Nothing happens. The ship slides out of the nebula's grasp gently, quietly.

She whoops as they break free, her excitement stirring up her crew as well, who cheer. "Alright, guys, slow and steady, set a course for the asteroid field over there!" The _Heryn_ drifts in the direction she pointed, careful to not arouse the nebula, or whatever it really is.

"Sir! Unidentified ships approaching," One of her officers calls out along with a position.

"Viewport!" Undyne orders and a screen pops up, showing twelve weird vaguely squid-shaped ships bearing towards the nebula. "Shit." She breathes. "Coms, can you contact anybody in there??"

Another ship is slipping slowly free from the nebula's hold. One at a time was the plan, but the approaching ships are coming too fast for everyone to escape by the time they arrive. And Undyne has a bad feeling about who they are. She'll bet anything they're the people who set the nebula up as a trap to catch them.

A third ship escapes. The coms officer reports that they can't contact anybody inside the nebula. "Okay, then head back." Undyne orders. "If we can't contact them out here, we'll contact them in there." Her crew obeys, spinning the ship and heading back. "Speed up. We have to get everyone out before those ships arrive."

The _Heryn_ splits through space at the fastest pace it can go while still running as quietly as possible. Undyne prays to the popular Klingon deity, Rifli, that she'll be in time. "Slow down on entry."

Her ship slows to a crawl as it slides back into the nebula. As soon as she's inside, the coms officer opens a channel to the rest of the fleet without needing an order. "Hey! There's a fleet of weird ships on its way, so maybe hurry the fuck up!" Undyne snaps into the comlink, then slices her thumb across her throat as a signal to close the channel. "Alright, now about-face and let's get the hell outta here." 

The nebula rumbles around the fleet. A few ships at a time start to escape. Undyne's ship slips free once more. "ALRIGHT, now set a course for the enemy fleet!!" Her crew obeys without complaint, even though causing a distraction could very well cost them all their lives. She grins, passionate pride bursting in her soul. "FUHUHU, LET'S GIVE'EM HELL, 'NOIDS!!"

The officers cheer and whoop, warriors racing towards potential death without a care.

* * *

Papyrus waits. He waits as his fleet gradually escapes, five to seven ships at a time cautiously escaping the trap. He waits for the last ship to break free before ordering his own ship into motion. The nebula rumbles, yet does nothing more.

The _Liltha_ slips out of the nebula at a painfully slow pace. And finally, they're free. His officers whoop as they see the rest of their fleet gathering by the asteroid field nearby. Papyrus counts under his breath, noting down each ship he sees. All are accounted for, except- "Dexi, open a channel to the _Heryn_." He orders and spins the view screen to show the fleet of enemy ships approaching beyond the nebula, and the _Heryn_ headed straight for it.

"Coms is still down, sir." She reports. "We can receive links but I can't create any." 

"Get someone to _fix it_ , then!" Papyrus snaps. "And _hurry_."

Ryuk stands and salutes with a quick, "Yes, sir!" then races out of the bridge. _Right_ , Papyrus realizes, the intercom doesn't work, so his ensign has gone to fetch an engineer themself. He decides to pretend that was what he intended. Jazz flirts shamelessly with Suzy in the background. Papyrus glares at the two in a silent command to take this situation seriously. They look ashamed and both return to their stations.

Ryuk returns breathlessly, dragging Lieutenant-Commander N'Kha and Ensign Cuina with them. Papyrus cuffs their head lightly in gratitude as they pass. They grin proudly back. N'Kha and Cuina communicate with each other in coos and warbles; the Kzinti/Klingon must have learned Ivren just to talk with Cuina in a language ke is familiar with. Papyrus approves. N'Kha is also wearing a purple jacket to cover the red engineering uniform. He'll allow that, as the Ivren have an odd aversion to the color red, but he would have preferred if N'Kha applied for permission first.

As soon as the two engineers step back, Dexi opens a channel to the _Heryn_. "Get back here, Undyne, we're all out!" Papyrus orders.

* _Fuhuhu, yes, sir!!_ * Undyne replies cheerfully. The _Heryn_ wheels to return.

Mini-stars blast from the enemy ships and explode around her ship. Undyne orders evasive maneuvers.

"Head for the _Heryn_!" Papyrus orders his own crew. "And prepare to fire on their pursuers!"

"Yes, sir!!" Jazz says, banking the _Liltha_ sharply around.

"Your wish is my command!!" Suzy readies the armaments.

"Dexi, try to open a channel with the enemy!!" Dexi acknowledges the order and attempts to obey. "Ryuk, stand by to translate!" They salute and sit back down, failing to hide their nervous trembling. "Sans, help Ryuk with ambassadorial stuff." Papyrus commands. Sans nods, sits down in the seat beside Ryuk without even a cross glance, and starts talking to them in a low voice, advising them in what to say.

"Channel accepted, sir! We'll have a comlink as soon as we come into range!" Dexi reports.

"Code five-three!" Papyrus orders, the signal to conceal weapons and lower shields, but be prepared to raise them again and fire.

" _Hai_!" Suzy replies. She's been binging anime with Alphys, but Papyrus will correct her later.

"Ryuk and Sans." Papyrus snaps and the two give him their attention. "Do your best. We're all counting on you." They both salute and grin at him. He trusts Sans to know what to do. He trusts Ryuk to figure a way out. Working together, the two will be formidable.

* * *

The octopus ships grow larger on the view screen, the _Heryn_ tiny by comparison. The _Liltha_ is barely the size of one of the enemy ships's shorter tentacles. You gulp down your fear and face the oncoming doom with a forced grin. Sans sits beside you, his calm presence and patient advice comforting. Papyrus sits behind you on his throne-like chair, grandly decked out in his gold uniform, cape, and scarf. His stern orders and unfaltering determination give you hope that everything will work out.

The comlink opens, a screen popping up on the viewport beside the view screen of the enemy fleet. The _Heryn_ passes the _Liltha_.

A tentacled alien crawls in front of the camera. You stand up. Their tentacles wave and they make clicking and popping noises. - _Intruders. Your blood will lubricate our engines.-_ is the general meaning, you think. Damn it, if only you could shapeshift.

You attempt to wave your arms and wiggle your fingers. The popping and clicking parts are easy enough, but how are you supposed to match the tentacle's fluidity of motion?? - _Mistake. Sorry. Please not kill._ \- You're pretty sure you said that right, but just to be sure, you add, - _sorry, my sign not good_.-

The alien puffs up, then deflates, waving their tentacles. Dexi says behind you. "Ensign, you're making it angrier. Stop."

"Fuck it, Dexi, I don't have tentacles!" You retort. "I can't perfectly match the diction and it's a very connotative language!"

"Do better." Dexi snaps.

You suppress a sigh. "Sans, they're mad we intruded on their territory. I tried to tell them it was a mistake."

"say mistake again." Sans says calmly. "show me the word."

You try to copy the twisting motion of your arms and the accompanying clicks.

"would it look something like this?" He forms several tiny bones and has them move in a pattern, making them copy the clicks as well.

You frown, examining the sign as it dances in the air. "No, a bit more curve here," You point out what needs to change until it's a perfect replica of the word. Then turn to the alien and show them.

- _Mistake? Pet not chase mistake. You intend intrusion_.- The alien replies.

" _Shit_." You curse, then repeat the words back to Sans. He nods patiently.

"what's the word for sorry?" He asks, then gestures to the attacks. You work with him to form the word, and then show it to the alien.

"It's not helping." Dexi snaps. "Try harder."

"shut up and let us work." Sans replies. " _you're_ not helping." You give him a grateful glance before turning your attention back to the alien.

- _We forgive once. Never again. Future you die._ -

You turn to Sans and together form the word for grateful, then show it to the alien.

They click and pop. - _Pleased. Leave wormhole experiment zone now._ \- 

Conceal the startled shock which jolts down your spine. If you tell Papyrus exactly what the alien said, he'll want more information, and that will potentially lead to everyone's deaths. But if you hide it, you'll be responsible for everyone remaining trapped in the Andromeda galaxy despite knowing of a potential way home.

You turn to Papyrus and smile. "They said we can go, but we have to leave immediately." _You swore to not lie to him_. It's justifiable, you try to argue, you have an extremely good reason for this deception.

Papyrus asks, "What else did they say?"

Dexi glares at you. Sans grins enigmatically.

"They said we'll die if we ever come back." You tell Papyrus with a steady voice.

"Dexi, open a channel to the fleet and order a full retreat to sector three-two." Papyrus accepts the answer. Dexi salutes him and sits back, relaxing.

Sans gives you a fist bump and ruffles your hair. "nice teamwork, kiddo. how about we extend the truce to the mess hall for a couple drinks."

"That sounds great." You smile. The aliens disappear from the viewport as the _Liltha_ leaps into warp along with the rest of the _Gil-Mista_ fleet.

"Alright, everyone!!" Papyrus crows. "We have more things to celebrate now, so I'm extending the anniversary festival to a week! Set a course for the Eru mining fleet, we're going to have them join in the festivities!!" A cheer goes up and you join in, whooping with a twisting pit in your gut. Papyrus gives you a proud grin. "I think I have a few promotions to hand out, as well!"

You can't feel happy about the successful escape. All you feel is sick with shame and fear. If you told him, it's possible that he could find a way to get everyone home. But. It's a toss-up between being responsible for their deaths and being responsible for their triumphant return home, and the dice are heavily weighted against the latter. So you choose life.

* * *

MK laughs in sheer delight as he dances with Luon, the Ferengi's lithe body shaking with the beat. Ryuk is playing modern music over the intercom this time, mostly Fae mixes, with a few Klingon songs interspersed. Undyne and Alphys weave around each other in the center, kissing as they do a slow dance. "This is quite the celebration, Mil-Gwedh." Luon notes. "Are all Fae joining parties this wild?"

"Yup!!" MK crows and dips Luon, euphoric. "Want to get your own?"

Luon's cheeks flush black. "Really, Mil-Gwedh, it's much too early to be talking about _that_."

MK laughs and lets Luon spin him around. "Joining parties aren't like _marriage_ , yo. They're just a celebration of two people loving each other. You can have as many as you like! You're only _married_ in Fae culture when you accept someone's request to be their soulbond."

"Ah." Luon says, grinning. "Then I suppose it would be acceptable to have our own."

Dexi and Se'Vir dance together in one corner. Asgore and Sans do the salsa again off to the side. Don't those two know of any other dances?? Frisk dances stiffly with Bracken, having been thoroughly thrashed by Undyne in a curb-stomp sparring match while MK cheered the warrior Fae on.

Papyrus wanders the room, accepting dances with random people, but never more than once. Cuina hops to the beat, somehow staying on N'Kha as the half-Kzinti does a wild capoeira-esque dance, but ke finally wings kis way over to Ryuk and sits on their head. Gaer dances with Suzy and Jazz. Esther approaches Toriel and the two start an awkward waltz while K'talla watches with an unreadable gaze.

MK looks around at all his crewmates, all his comrades, his friends. He looks into Luon's golden eyes and sees his love mirrored in the Ferengi's gaze. His tail lashes with happiness and he pulls Luon into a hungry kiss as a few onlookers whistle and hoot.

He never wants this party to end.

It has to, though, eventually, and he staggers, slightly buzzed from the alcohol, as he starts for his own quarters. Luon walks beside him, steadying him with an arm.

"Come in?" MK offers when they reach his quarters.

Luon accepts the invitation and enters. They play a game of chess and MK loses ungracefully as Luon laughs in triumph. Both eventually fall asleep on the couch, exhausted, MK's head resting on Luon's shoulder, their arms intertwined.

* * *

Papyrus wanders the room after most everyone has left. It's a mess, so he starts to clean up. Ryuk helps him to this end, grabbing brooms and bags. The music plays softly in the background.

"You performed well." Papyrus tells them.

They smile brightly. "Couldn't have done it if you woulda cut my head off, sir!"

"Right..." He growls playfully. "I seem to also remember a certain ensign _insulting_ me. What was it you called me, again?? _Cactus-butt_??"

They shiver in mock terror. "Oh, th-that wasn't m-me, you must be thinking of some _other_ insubordinate officer!"

Papyrus grins wickedly. "Oh, no, that was _you_. Hmm. What should I do to discipline you?"

"Pl-please, forgive me!" They fall to their knees and clasp their hands together, pouting.

Papyrus yanks them up by the nape of their neck. "You aren't _ticklish_ , are you, ensign??"

"N-no, please..." They whimper, failing to hide their amusement.

Papyrus pinches their abdomen and they squeal, writhing, as he runs his fingers across their sensitive belly and ribs, pinching at random. "I told you, all insubordination will be strictly punished, ensign." He reprimands them sternly as they sob with uncontrollable laughter. "Now. Am I a cactus-butt??"

"Y-yes!" They squeak, daring him to do worse, so he attacks them ferociously with pinches to the side of their ribs and stomach.

"Wrong answer! Try again, Nyeh Heh Heh!" He cackles, keeping a firm grip on the back of their uniform.

"Som-sometimes!!" They squeal, struggling to escape.

"One more chance, ensign, before I throw you in the brig for a week!"

"N-no, _no_ , _sir_ , you are totally not a cactus-butt, and I regret ever placing such a perjurious label on you!!" They break free and give him a grinning glare. "But _you're_ gonna regret doing that."

"What was that, _ensign_??" Papyrus steps threateningly towards them, expecting them to retreat. He certainly doesn't expect them to duck under his reach as his hand shoots for their collar and then pop up, grab _him_ by his collar, and sweep a foot behind his knees to trip him. He falls, sockets wide with shock, but they catch him just before he hits the ground.

"Hmm." They consider with an innocent smirk, holding him with one hand on his collar and the other at the base of his skull, and not letting him regain his footing. "Seems I have you in my power, sir. Whatever should I do?"

Papyrus's cheekbones heat at the intense look in their eyes. "This is undignified, Ensign Ryuk, I demand you let me go at once!" He replies haughtily.

They grin. "Yes, sir." And they drop him. Papyrus leaps up and preens, dusting the crumbs from his cape. Ryuk returns to cleaning without another word.

Papyrus breaks the silence after a few minutes of companionable cleaning. "My nightmare was some stupid tentacles from Alphys's weird cartoon pornos that I accidentally watched."

"Heh." They huff. "Mine was some idiots yelling at me for failing them." They wink. Papyrus isn't sure whether they mean him and Sans or somebody else.

"Who??" He questions.

They shrug, "My parents."

"Well, _I'm_ the only person allowed to reprimand you now, ensign, so when I see them, I will chastise their treatment of my officer."

A smile blooms across their face. "Thanks, Rus."

Papyrus's cheekbones and soul flush with warmth at their casual use of the nickname. But- he supposes he'll allow it. As long as- "D-don't call me that in front of _anybody_!!" He flusters and cuffs them.

* * *

#  * * * *

Undyne dry-swallows a pill and turns to Alphys, who gulps down her own with a cup of water. "Fuhuhu, you're so _hot_ , babe." Undyne purrs and Alphys's muzzle flushes as she steps nearer, straight into Undyne's trap.

The cuffs on the ground activate around Alphys's ankles and she trips into Undyne's arms. Undyne laughs wickedly and sets her wife down, bent over the bed, her vulnerable ass bared. Alphys squirms, acting afraid, but the two planned this a few hours ago. Cuffs snap around the reptile's wrists. Undyne picks up a belt and caresses Alphys's bare buttocks with it, loving the way the blood rushes to the surface of her scales underneath the leather.

"You were naughty, weren't you, Alphys." She coos sternly.

Alphys whimpers, "Y- _yes_ , I- I've been so- so _naughty_..." Undyne lifts the belt and brings it down with a harsh thwack. Alphys yelps, a heat pulsing in Undyne's soul.

"You _like_ this, don't you, slut."

"Yes, I'm a slut for you, Undyne!!" Alphys wails as Undyne lashes her again, slightly harder.

"Are you sorry?"

"N-no, punish me!!"

"Alright, babe." Undyne laughs evilly and spanks her wife with gradually increasing strength. Alphys glows with the force of her arousal. Undyne's soul pounds, throbbing with desire, as she punishes her naughty wife, who wails freely.

"You wanna continue, babe?" Undyne checks after fifteen lashes.

"K-keep going!!" Alphys demands. Undyne continues to thrash her. Then, "La-lasagna!" Alphys cries finally after twenty, tears running down her cheeks. Undyne deactivates the cuffs and wraps Alphys in her arms, cuddling her on the bed. She rubs her wife's sore ass, stroking the tender skin gently with the leather belt and Alphys purrs into Undyne's chest.

"Want me to heal you?" Undyne asks.

"S-sure." Alphys says and whimpers with arousal as Undyne's green magic heals her pain. "U-Undyne, I want you." She moans.

Undyne grins and flips Alphys onto her back. "You sure, babe?"

"T-take me!" Alphys grasps Undyne's breasts in her calloused claws and licks one hungrily with her rough tongue. Undyne gasps and wraps Alphys in her arms, then draws her soul forth, an outpouring of herself.

Alphys's soul responds by emerging as well. Magic, _iifra_ , flows formlessly between the two, pulsing as their bodies intertwine. The rainbow glow reflects iridescent off of Alphys's scales and Undyne's skin, brighter and brighter as to be almost unbearable, lifting the two into the air as magic dances around them and through them.

And then, for one brilliant eternal moment, the light implodes, the two souls connecting and resonating. Undyne delights in Alphys's blissful shout. The light dies. The two collapse back onto their bed, curling into each other.

"Love you, babe." Undyne murmurs into her wife's neck.

Alphys giggles, a wickedly innocent sound. "L-love you too, U-Undyne..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dunno if I can actually physically write fluff, lol. I don't think I'm capable of that sugary sweetness sans all edge and angst. I just love torturing my characters too much ;p
> 
> (general gist if you skipped the last scene: Alphys and Undyne have sex and do a bit of bdsm. nothing really important, lol) ;P


	18. this fight is all i know that's right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bit more fluff.
> 
> This chapter feels kinda weak to me, so I might go back and edit it later... I'm planning on editing the entire work once I finish, though, so I'll probably leave it. ;P
> 
> EDIT: thanks to a wonderful commenter, figured out what was wrong!! it is now altered.

Stare out at the stars scattered across the expanse of space, which seems to swallow you in your hiding place in the jefferies tubes.Your finger presses to the cold transparent metal, the only barrier between you and the vacuum, and you trace patterns in the stars, humming thoughtlessly.

"hey."

You gulp down the yelp you almost let out and spin, smiling. "Hey, Sans. What's this about?"

"oh, nothing. just thought i should let you know your punishment is over."

You frown, counting on your fingers the days. "But-"

"nuh-uh, no buts. i- uh. kinda missed your help with pranking the celebrations, so i'm willing to pardon you."

"Neat."

"one thing, though." Sans says. "whatever you're hiding from Papyrus-"

"I- I'm sorry... If you want to punish me for lying to him, go ahead, but I-"

"what? no, kid, i want you to _keep_ lying to him." Sans ruffles your hair and you splutter at him.

"Excuse me??"

"you heard me. those aliens who almost killed us have a way home, don't they. and if Paps knew, he'd go in guns blazing and he'd die. so keep lying."

You almost speak up in defense of Papyrus. Then stop yourself. That was basically why you're hiding it in the first place, you can't really get annoyed at Sans for having the same opinion. It just feels- kind of unfair to Papyrus. It also feels like a furious verbal beat-down just waiting to happen; as soon as he finds out you're hiding something this important, he'll boil you alive.

"Yes, Sans." You reply. "I don't really want to die, anyway."

"good kid. i knew i wouldn't need to threaten ya." He pats your head once more and then shortcuts away.

You wander the ship, cleaning up after the day's celebrations. It's only the third day. Everybody is so used to having you as a janitor that they pay no mind to your ship-wide ministrations.

Until you bump into the very person you need to avoid, of course. Papyrus loses his scowl and grins down at you as you bend over to get a couple cans from the ground. "Ah, Ensign Ryuk, perhaps you can help us!" Dexi and K'tolok stand there as well. They don't look happy to see you.

"Hi." You wave.

"My officers are willing to let all my suggestions be promoted." Papyrus says, "Except for one person."

"Okay? They probably have good reason." You say.

" _Very_ good reason." Dexi growls at you. You get the distinct feeling they're talking about you.

"Dude." You frown at Papyrus. "I don't even want a promotion."

"Nyeh heh, I suppose that's settled, then!! Would you care for some coffee, Ry- ensign?" Papyrus hurries to grab your arm and stride away from his officers.

"What was that about?"

"I told you." He responds stiffly, then huffs, glaring off into the murals on the wall. "Dexi and K'tolok want me to exile a few people they think are troublemakers, including you and Mettaton. It's not just them, either, they have a signed petition with over a thousand signatures."

"Oh." You try to think of some way to dissuade him. All that pops into your head is the truth you're hiding. You viciously shove it away but it keeps slipping back in. You keep your mouth closed tight, unwilling to spill it.

"And I think you're useful. Mettaton, I couldn't care less about, but it would be cruel to send him off with no legs." A twinge of guilt pricks at you, that's your fault. "You'd be able to handle yourself, but then we wouldn't have a translator." Papyrus says. "And I like you, so I'd be annoyed if you were gone." You choke on air, cheeks and neck heating.

"I like you, too." You mumble honestly, ignoring the guilt roiling in your stomach. "You're not as much of an asshole as I thought you were."

"You're not as much of a sociopathic manipulator as I thought you were." Papyrus laughs as he enters the music-filled mess hall. Hide your flinch.

"Papyrus, I-" You start to confess, then see Sans in the corner, watching you with a dangerously tight grin. "Uh- Do you like to dance?" Better to keep the secret hidden. Papyrus doesn't need to know. You're doing the right thing, even Sans says so.

* * *

The brig walls curl over Mettaton, far too silent, far too absent of adoring crowds. He sings to himself to ease the loneliness, a sad lament. There's nothing he can do anymore. Not without legs. If he really wanted to, he could use his three remaining arms to crawl, but that would hardly be fitting for a _former_ star. Ah~ he wasn't even allowed to go out in a blaze of glory.

Footsteps tap on the metal floor. Oh, to have feet again... "What, come to gloat, _mother_ _dearest_?" Mettaton sneers tiredly at the two intertwined souls approaching.

Alphys shivers, shielding herself from his piercing gaze. "Wh-what gives you the right to call me that??"

"Dear, darling, _Alphys_." Mettaton explains patiently with an air of scorn. "You created this form, you held me in torment, and you controlled my life Underground. You are only the first _mother_ of many I have encountered."

"Th-that's not what a mother is, Mettaton." Alphys protests. Mettaton has his processors imitate a loud sigh. "A m-mother is caring and k-kind."

"Well." Mettaton grins wanly. "I'm glad you've learned your lesson just in time to think you're ready to torment _this_ creation." He gestures to the unformed soul in Alphys's chest. "Did you completely disregard my series on birth control, or were you simply _determined_ to get a new test subject." He doesn't hold back on the bitterness dripping from his voice.

Alphys cringes. "I- I was going to offer to- to fix you." She complains. "B-but if you're going to be m-mean... why are- are you being so- so m-mean?? Everyone else grew up... why- why didn't you?"

Mettaton groans metallically. "Must you ask for my backstory, Alphys, darling?"

"I- I mean, I didn't-"

"It all started..." Mettaton launches into his tragic backstory, holding Alphys hostage with the phaser he snatched from her belt.

"W-wait, you're doing it all wrong." Alphys stops him in the middle of his monologue about the deep impact that the lack of cake had on him as a young ghost.

"Yes, _Alphys_? Whatever am I, the _expert_ , doing wrong??" Mettaton raises one steel brow.

Alphys smirks. "For one, you should be orating while pacing moodily back and forth."

Mettaton throws his head back and laughs darkly. "What a _burn_ , darling~. Fix me, then."

Alphys lowers the forcefield and enters as Mettaton gestures with her phaser. She pulls her gearbox out of her inventory and sits down by the charred and jagged stumps of his thighs. He regales her with his backstory as she works, ignoring the fact that she knows all of it up until fifteen years ago.

Really, nothing happened during that time. He only serially dated, got dumped repeatedly- sometimes by more than one person at a time- fell disgraced from stardom, tried to rise again, and was mocked by the entire Federation for ever daring to reach for fame once more. _Nothing_ to be ~ _bitter_ ~ about, really.

Mettaton needs attention. No. He _deserves_ it. He deserves love and admiration. But nobody will give him what he deserves.

Alphys finally finishes his new legs. "Th-there. N-now you owe me." She tells him.

" _Darling_." Mettaton coos dangerously. "I owe _nothing_ to my tormenter. You just repaid a small portion of your debt to me."

Alphys giggles. "Oh, _Mettaton_ , you know me... would I really give you new legs out of the kindness of my heart?"

Mettaton scrambles back from her, soul pounding with horror. "What have you _done_ to me??"

She produces a remote from her inventory and strokes the buttons on it. "Oh, n-nothing much, just made it so you can _never hurt anyone again._ " The last words come out as a snarl. "You put _one_ f-foot out- out of line, then I- I help you find out if- if there's _really_ an _afterlife_."

Mettaton shudders, his metal casings grinding together rustily. "D-darling, you _wouldn't_."

"You of all people should know _I totally would_ ~" Alphys purrs and runs a hand up his arm to grab his chin, tapping the remote on his cheek. " _I'm_ your worst nightmare. Don't forget it." Smirking, she slips the phaser from his shaking hand and leaves.

* * *

Frisk scurries to catch up with Asriel as he weaves through the scattered traffic of the _Liltha_ 's halls. Some people paint their designs on the walls. Others loiter or wander aimlessly with their friends, drinking, and still others sit in corners and play games. She spots one group playing cards. "Hey, guys, can I watch?" She approaches them, curious. The game Ryuk played with her and Skoria was nothing like any game Frisk ever played, but she had fun winning. Chara tries to tell her she didn't win until Ryuk let her, but she ignores that.

The group shuns her. She pouts and runs after Asriel. "What's wrong, now, heroine?" He asks.

"I remember playing a card game that was really fun, but I don't know what it was called." Frisk complains. "We need to find Ryuk, they have it, maybe you can play too!!"

Asriel stops short, fury written on his face. " _Ryuk_. That bastard."

"You know them!!" Frisk cries happily. "Find them, Azzy!"

"Oh, I'll _find_ them alright, find them and _kill_ them..." He mutters more under his breath that Frisk can't make out. Frisk slaps his arm and he gasps, "Ow, hey!"

"No killing them, Azzy, they're my friend!"

"That's what they _want_ you to think. But as soon as they get tired of you, they'll manipulate the situation to get rid of you..." Asriel mutters bitterly. "Don't talk to me about _Ryuk_ , Frisk, if I see them I'm gonna-"

Frisk and Asriel enter the mess hall together. Asriel stops short, choking on his words. Frisk claps her hands. "Aww, there they are!!"

"I'm gonna kill them." Asriel tells her calmly.

In the middle of the mess hall, Ryuk and Papyrus weave around each other in a space-folk dance amidst several other crew as onlookers clap to the beat of the music. Chara sulks, they want to dance with Papyrus, but they had their chance a few timelines ago and they blew it. Frisk starts to drag Asriel into the dance, but he shakes her hand off and strides into the mass of dancers, determined fury in the set of his shoulders.

Frisk frowns and crosses her arms, watching as Asriel storms up to Ryuk and tries to grab them. They duck and spin around him, then shove him to Papyrus. Papyrus seems to take it as an inclusion of Asriel into the dance, and so dances around him. Asriel, pissed off, again attempts to grab for Ryuk. They continue to avoid him by incorporating his movements into their dance.

The other dancers start to watch as well, making a ring around the three, laughing and cheering them on. Asriel becomes increasingly frustrated. Papyrus seems completely oblivious, but probably actually knows what's happening. And Ryuk just seems to be enjoying torturing Asriel by remaining always one step ahead of him.

Finally, Frisk can take no more. She stomps into the ring and grabs Asriel by the back of his collar. He growls and tries to rip out of her grasp. She glares at him. "Don't just dance with them!! You dummy, I want to dance too!"

"You heard her." Ryuk winks and bleps, wiggling their tongue at Asriel. " _Dance_."

Asriel shrieks and tears away from Frisk. Ryuk grins as they keep dancing around him. Papyrus sighs and offers a hand to Frisk. "Well, it seems my partner has been stolen. Would you care to join me?"

"Yes!" Chara says before Frisk can protest. "I will dance with you, Admiral."

"Very well, Chara." Papyrus leads them in a waltz. He somehow always knows which one of the two is in control. It makes Chara swoon a bit more. "My ensign seems to have gotten themself in trouble again."

His annoyed tone hides fondness, Chara realizes. "You like them." She notes.

"Y-yes, so I do, what about it??" He flusters. "Pl-platonically, of course!! Very platonic!!"

"Mhm." Chara hums and dips Papyrus to the ground, then lifts him back up again. "You are blushing."

"Sh-shut up." Papyrus growls, the red on his cheekbones darkening. "You're not jealous, are you??"

"Me? Jealous? _Passionately_." Chara purrs. "But you deserve better than a ghost trapped in a sociopath's body." Frisk protests that she is most certainly not a sociopath. "Besides, we have Asriel. If he would stop chasing after your partner."

"Shall we switch, then?" Papyrus winks.

"May I, first?" Chara requests. "Just once?"

Papyrus blushes again but nods tersely. "Once."

Chara dips him again and plants a kiss between his eyes. Then raises him again and spins him. He leaps elegantly between Asriel and Ryuk, just as Asriel had caught the gadfly by their collar and drawn back his fist.

Frisk then grabs Asriel and yanks him into a dip, smooching him smack dab on his lips. He moans angrily, then gives up and kisses her back. Cheers erupt from the onlookers. Chara glances up to see Papyrus and Ryuk bantering in the background with casual camaraderie. Asriel grabs Frisk's chin and kisses her hungrily once more, claiming her breath, claiming her blood, claiming their soul.

* * *

Papyrus gives out promotions on the fourth day of celebrations. Doctor MK gets his effective rank raised from Lieutenant-Commander to Commander. Commander Luon receives a promotion to Captain, but will remain on the _Liltha._ Ensigns Kal'bun and M'rer are promoted to Lieutenants. Ensign- wait, _what_?? _Shit_. Now you have _more_ responsibility. And more guilt.

You storm up to the bridge to make Papyrus demote you. Lieutenant Dexi stares coldly through you when you enter. Esther and Jazz ignore you. Suzy waves with a smile, until Jazz hisses at her, upon which she tries to scowl at you. "Where's the Admiral?" You demand, not caring what they think of you.

"He's in the war room." Suzy pipes up, then shrugs when Esther pinches her. "What, they're not _evil_. You probably didn't even know he'd do it, right?"

"Nope." You say.

"There, see?"

"Thanks, Suzy." You enter the war room. Papyrus paces back and forth moodily. Now is probably a really bad time. "Sir." You step in anyway.

"Lieutenant, if you are here to complain about your new position, save it." He snaps.

"N-no," You lie, "Actually, I was just going to thank you. You're obviously working really hard to find everyone a way back home."

"It would be easier if any of the aliens we've encountered knew of any anomalous wormholes..." Papyrus growls.

"Sir- maybe..." You start to confess.

And Sans suddenly shortcuts in, popping between you and Papyrus. "bro," he says, ignoring you. "asgore made some really good tea. you want to join us for a cuppa?"

"Fine." Papyrus groans. "Ryuk-"

"ryuk has work to attend to." Sans cuts him off. "undyne is trying to commission them to clean the _heryn's_ hull after seeing what a good job they did on the _liltha_ 's."

You get the not-so-subtle threat. But how did he know you were in here alone with Papyrus??

Sans shortcuts Papyrus away. You wait. Sure enough, he returns a few minutes later, with black sockets. You glare at him and tap your foot. "Are you spying on me??" You demand.

"nah. this room has audio recordings, did ya know that?"

"So you _were_ spying on me." You state angrily.

"listen, kid, don't put my bro's safety in jeopardy. you do that, and you're gon-"

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard you say that a hundred times, but it's getting old, Sans. You can't shelter him from everything."

"i'm _not_. i'm sheltering him from _certain_ _death_."

"You don't _know_ that he'd-"

"i know my bro better than you do, kiddo, and i don't like your attitude."

You glare at him, sulking. "Fine. I won't tell him."

"promise."

" _Ugh_ , Sans, really??" You throw your hands up. "You're _impossible_."

"promise me, or you really will have to scrub the _heryn_."

"Make me." You snarl, unwilling to make a promise that will trap you into one course of action. Turn and storm out, slamming the door behind you. The other officers on the bridge stare at you. You salute to them and leave.

* * *

Papyrus taps his foot as Sans shortcuts back into the quarters he shares with Asgore. "Well? How's Ryuk?" He asks Sans, restraining his rage into a deadly rapier to tear apart the shrouds of lies.

Sans blinks, set on edge by the question. "d-didn't see them, bro, i told ya, i went to the mess hall for some celery." He holds up a couple stalks. "where's fuzzball?"

"Fetching my deceitful lieutenant." Papyrus growls. "He has orders to bring them back here, while I deal with my deceitful _brother_." If skeletons could gulp, Papyrus is sure Sans just did.

"bro, i- it's really not that big a deal-"

"Silence!" Papyrus rages. "I will decide whether it's important or not! What the fuck are you hiding from me, Sans??"

Sans glares back. "were you _spying_ on me, bro??"

" _You_ left the audio on." Papyrus says, trying to not facepalm at his brother's ineptitude. "I didn't even realize it was playing audio from the war room until it was too late and I'd heard all I needed to know that my brother and officer are both _lying_ to me about something dangerous."

"bro... alright. i'll tell ya." Sans sighs. "ryuk... is in love with ya. but they're not reliable, they'll get ya killed, and you're too nice, i knew you'd date them if they told ya."

Papyrus's cheekbones heat violently, a turmoil in his soul. "Wh-what??" He cries. "That is the stupidest reason for hiding something like that I have ever heard, why, when I get a hold of them, I'm going to-" He stops with a strangled sort of noise as Asgore enters the room with Ryuk dragged behind him. "...going to... H-hello, Ryuk!"

They look away, ashamed of their ardent feelings for him. "i told him everything, ryuk, it's okay. he knows you're in love with him." And that kind of seems on the nose, but whatever- wait. Sans is lying. It took a bit longer for Papyrus to realize because he was slightly, only slightly, flustered, but looking back, it's obvious.

Papyrus hides the storm of fury in his soul. Ryuk tears out of Asgore's grasp and kneels before Papyrus in abject misery. "I'm sorry, I was going to tell you, but Sans interrupted!" Papyrus raises an eyeridge, they're about to confess to him, for real. Maybe he'll forgive them for lying. "The truth is-"

Sans snaps his fingers and they flinch. Papyrus glares at Sans warningly. "Th-the truth is..." Ryuk repeats, nearly sobbing. Papyrus kneels beside them and takes their hand.

"Tell me and I will forgive you." He says gently.

That's all they need to crack. "The tentacle aliens have a way home!"

" ** _WHAT??_** " He rises to his feet, grabbing them by the collar and dragging them up as well.

"They called their territory the 'wormhole experimentation zone'!" They continue, despite their obvious fear. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid you'd want more information! I didn't want everyone to die! B-but I was _wrong_ , and you- you're right to be mad. I shouldn't have lied to you, I should have trusted you. I'm sorry."

Papyrus calms down slightly with their admission of guilt. Then wraps them in his arms, glaring down into their eyes. "You were right to be scared." He growls as he traps them in an embrace. "I'm going to go straight back there and get everyone killed on a wild chase that has an extremely high chance of failing."

They huff with a rueful smile. "I said _sorry_."

"Oh, no, I'm not done yet! You should be very terrified, because now you'll have to infiltrate the enemy camp and try to blend in despite your stiff bones and terrible accent! Hmm. Maybe I'll even have you, an inexperienced idiot when it comes to machinery, control the wormhole, and then everyone will get torn across time and space! ...Does _that_ sound like a plan I would make??"

"N-no, sir." They mumble, hiding their face in his scarf.

His wrath assuaged through sarcastic venting, Papyrus lets them go. They wipe their eyes and step back.

"As for _you_ , Sans." Papyrus turns to scold his brother. But Sans has disappeared.

"He's going to kill me." Ryuk groans.

"He _will not_ if he wants to remain in my good graces." Papyrus replies. "Asgore, contact me if you see him, and keep him from running away again."

"Very well, Papyrus." Asgore rumbles. Papyrus indulges in a shot of pride that he's now the one giving the ex-king orders.

"Ryuk, you're going to get more information." He decides. Ryuk stares at him in disbelief. "From the Eru. Find out if those tentacle aliens have any weaknesses."

"Yes, sir." They grumble.

He cuffs them. "Trust me, Lieutenant."

"If I refuse, will you demote me to ensign?" They ask hopefully.

"No." He shatters their hope bluntly. "I'll have you thrown in the brig."

Ryuk pouts melodramatically. "Fine. You- do you promise we won't all die trying to get back?"

Papyrus huffs in annoyance. "Yes, _chill_ , Ryuk, I promise-" He realizes what he just said and cuffs them. "You're a bad influence!!" They chuckle evilly. " _Trust_ me, Ryuk, I won't rush in. This is an operation that requires stealth! Intrigue! Deception! Just- just no deception between my officers and myself, got it??" 

* * *

Sans sulks in Ryuk's broom closet, waiting for the errant brat to return. The Ivren sleep softly around him, curled in the nest of purple clothes on the floor. Surrounded by such a peaceful environment, Sans soon slips off to sleep as well.

He's awakened by the click of the intercom several hours later, * _We have gained some new and interesting information, everyone! Our quest to return home may be closer to an end than you might think, nyeh heh._ *

Sans rubs the sleep from his sockets, groaning as he remembers. Damn _brat_ spilled the beans. And now Papyrus has apparently decided to open several cans of worms at once by telling _everyone_.

* _The aliens we encountered, yes, the ones who trapped us in a nebula and nearly destroyed us all, they called their territory a wormhole experimentation zone._ *

Shit. Sans sits up, no longer asleep. He has to stop this somehow. Wormholes are too dangerous to play around with. He's humored Papyrus's attempts to find a way home thus far, but he can't afford to anymore.

* _Furthermore, according to information gathered from the Eru, the aliens, called Dai'zhe, might have a weakness we could exploit!! More information will come as we acquire it._ *

Sans growls under his breath and flops down into the comfy nest again. Behind him, the grate to the jefferies tube opens and closes again gently. "damn brat, i told you to keep lying. now look what you've done." He spits without getting up.

"He's smart, Sans, you're not giving him enough credit." Ryuk defends.

"i gave _you_ too _much_ , apparently." Sans replies coldly. The _idiot_ , why must they _consistently_ put his brother in even more danger?? "as for Paps, he'll do anything to be loved and admired. even if it means going on a suicide mission to return everyone home. congrats, kid, your first try failed, but your second, oh, that has a much higher chance of success." He hopes his words slash their soul, his words are daggers that he wields to destroy. "but you ain't gonna live to see him die."

They glare down at him. "Sans, kill me if you want, but you can't stop him and I'm his best hope for survival now. Kill me and your brother is as good as dead."

"he already is, thanks to you." Sans spits. " _wormholes_. do you even have a fucking clue how unstable those things are??"

They shrug. "Chill, we came through one. And you use them all the time to get around."

"because i'm an expert. mess with a wormhole, mess it up even a smidgen, and you'll be torn across all time and space. it ain't pretty, kid."

"Great, you'll help, then?"

Sans splutters angrily at their cheekiness. "were you not listening to a single fucking word i said??"

"Yep. And here's what I heard, 'In the hands of an expert, wormholes can be incredibly useful. But if we don't know what we're doing, it'll kill everyone in an incredibly painful way.' You're an expert." They shrug.

Sans sighs. Brat. "i'm not helping. but i'll teach a couple engineers what to do. andif he dies, you're getting keelhauled."

"Okay. He won't die." They say. "So neither of us have to worry."

"you better swear, kid. swear to me you won't let him die." Sans glares sternly into their eyes.

"Yeah, alright, I _swear_ to you, I'll do everything I can to keep him from dying." They say, giving him a serious gaze.

"i'll accept that."

"Course, it'd be easier with my cards." They grumble and flop down next to Sans. "But you fucked me over there."

" _fucking hell_ , kid. can i not get a break??" Sans growls, ready to be pissed off if they keep complaining about their dumb cards.

"I mean, how would you feel if someone took your magic, your shortcuts." They fucking keep complaining about the goddamned cards. "You wouldn't be able to protect anybody!"

He's ready to snap and shortcut them into the brig to sleep with Mettaton until Papyrus finds them, but then their actual words sink in. "wait, what."

"I'm saying," They say with forced patience, "That if Papyrus gets in trouble, there's not a _god-fucking-damned_ thing I can do, thanks to _you_. So _congrats_ , _great_ _job_ keeping him safe." 

Sans takes a minute to process their words and tries to ignore the guilt pricking at him. "damn it, kid, if you told me-"

"If I told you, you woulda still destroyed them." They retort bitterly. "And probably laughed about it."

"fine, kid, you're right. i maybe was crueler than i had to be." Sans admits, grinding his teeth. "but you gotta understand, i was teaching you a lesson. maybe it was a bit more effective than it should have been, but still."

They growl under their breath. "Doesn't make it okay. I'm still _useless_ , and it's your fault."

"what, you want to take my magic away as payback?? make us both useless?? c'mon, kid, what'll it take to get ya to forgive me??"

"Apologize to Papyrus." They say tersely. "And help him get everyone home without dying."

"fine. you got a deal. now can you let me sleep already??" Sans grumbles, rolling over to a comfier position.

"Nope." They grab his arm. "You promised." Sans sags, becoming deadweight as they try to drag him out of the room. "You!! Are not getting out of this!!"

"i think i'm just too overwhelmed by the _gravity_ of the situation." Sans says and tries to weigh them down. Their soul slips from his grasp. He frowns and tries again, but again his magic slides off. "i'm not escaping, am i." He says tiredly.

"Nope!!" They crow, carrying him bridal-style, then hum. "I wonder how mad your brother will be when he learns you destroyed my only way to help him...?"

"tell him and you're-"

"I bet you're gonna have a _bad time_ , right, Sans?" They grin at him, vengeful ire burning in their eyes, as they mock his favorite catchphrase.

Sans sighs and doesn't struggle as they haul him to his doom: a pissed off Papyrus. This is one argument he won't be winning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly, i thought it'd take a bit longer for the truth to come out, was planning on it being in the next chapter, but oh well.


	19. I'm Just One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter of fluff before the climax. I'm going to work on the climax as one entire piece and wait to finish it before I post it in separate chapters, that way it'll hopefully flow better. 
> 
> Again, I made a huge mistake in not making it emotionally vital for everyone to return home to the Milky Way, but that is one among many things I hope to fix in the second draft and then final revision. :P This is the first draft, folks, thanks for your patience with me, I know it's not as good as it could be ;P

Papyrus spends the last few days of the celebration trying to find a strategy to utilize the information Ryuk gave him. His fleet is filled with frenetic energy from the news that there might be a way home, but he can sense the growing split between people who think it's too dangerous, like Ryuk and Sans, and people like him who want to take the risk. Sans argues to wait a few months and look for another way home. Ryuk might be in support of Papyrus now, but he knows they're still wary. 

According to Ryuk's information garnered from various Eru, the Dai'zhe are a heavily scientific clan from the R!ay species. The Eru trade with the Dai'zhe and are rewarded with tech like the teleportation devices on their ships and consistently updated knowledge of where the ever-moving borders of the wormhole experimentation zone are.

Papyrus discusses it with his officers. He argues about it with his brother. He avoids his brother when the two can't stop fighting over it. The new enemy looms in the distance, challenging him, begging to be defeated.

Three days after the truth has come to light, Papyrus still has no plan that might work. He paces in the war room, stressed but hopeful. Just a few days ago, he was despairing and panicking from not knowing how to get everyone back home. Now he knows of a way, but is it even a viable way??

Ryuk steps into the war room and waves casually before plopping into one of the chairs and spinning it around. "What do you want??" Papyrus demands, not in the mood for their nonsense. Even if it is endearin- No, it's not. Totally not endearing at all. He slaps his face, trying to rid himself of the brightness in his chest that bloomed when they entered.

"We're having a wild party for the last day," They say, still spinning around in the chair. "You should come. Relax. Get that gigantic spiky cactus outta your pelvis again."

" _Really_??" Papyrus responds, aggravated that they're making crude humor when he's obviously stressed out.

"Yyyup. C'mon, dude, even the big boss has to chill sometimes. The wormhole aliens and our violent agonizing deaths at their hands can wait." They say it lightly, but Papyrus reads the intended meaning well enough. _There's not much time left to live, so spend it having fun_.

"Is having fun your _only_ goal in life??" Papyrus demands.

"Well, that and annoy you, but annoying you tends to be pretty fun, so yeah, I guess." They stop their spinning abruptly and stand up, looking Papyrus steadily in the eyes. "Is _winning_ your goal?"

"Nnnh- maybe?? So what?? I have lots of other goals!! Like keeping everyone safe!!" 

"Eh, just wondering." They grin. "Winning's fun, though, I guess. So's _parties_."

Papyrus groans loudly. "Fine." He says. "Don't let me regret this."

"Oh, you won't, Rus." They pass him and cuff his shoulder as they go by. A jolt of surprise flashes at the contact. When they reach the door, they turn back and blep as they salute. "See ya, sir."

"I- I'm regretting already!!" He cries after them.

Dexi comes in later with a cup of tea as he's sitting in a chair and mindlessly spinning it around. "Sir, you should take a break." She says gently. He stops spinning abruptly and feels woozy, warmth on his cheekbones.

"I- I will. Thank you." He takes the tea when the dizziness has died down and sips it. No cream, but fraught with sugar. Perfect.

"Perhaps some sparring matches would help you unwind." Dexi offers. "I can call Undyne if you'd like."

"No, that's fine, I think just us officers will be enough." Papyrus says, remembering a few of the officers are still unblooded newbies. If Undyne joined, she'd overwhelm them.

"Wonderful. I'll call everyone to the gym." Dexi claps her hands.

Sparring is always a nice unwinding exercise. Ryuk is right, the Dai'zhe will still be there, so there's no rush. Maybe Sans has a point as well, perhaps he should wait a few months before worrying about it.

When all the officers on the _Liltha_ have been gathered to the gym, Papyrus pairs them up with each other for the first round. There's an odd number again, so Papyrus stays out of it, waiting to spar the final winner, as he always does.

As the third pair steps into the ring, the door hums open and Ryuk stumbles in with a shit-eating grin, chased by an angrily laughing MK. MK captures them and smacks them repeatedly over the head with the book in his hand. "You absolute bastard!!" MK cries, his voice cracking with giggles.

"What??" Ryuk defends, also giggling. "I thought it might help you do the _you-know-what_ with _you-know-who_!"

Papyrus simply observes as MK screeches and slaps them again with the book. Books are a rare commodity on the fleet, but he's not going to question where they got it. He tries to read the title as MK draws it back to hit Ryuk again. _1001_ _Nights: How To Make Your Datemate Scream_.

Papyrus's face heats. "WHY THE HELL DO YOU HAVE SUCH A SCANDALOUS BOOK??" He stomps up to the two and grabs Ryuk by their collar, shaking them as they attempt to look contrite but fail miserably.

"I st- uh, _got_ it from a Ferengi." They shrug, an evil glint in their grin. MK smacks them again with the book.

"I should burn it!!" MK screeches. "And you along with it!!"

Ryuk flinches, looking honestly horrified. Papyrus speaks up in the book's defense. "Don't, MK, an actual book is rare and besides, it might come in handy." He grins wickedly at the doctor.

MK splutters furiously, staring at Papyrus in embarrassed shock. "Y-you-!! F-fine." He grumbles and then, struggling to not smile, growls at Ryuk, "Thanks, yo." And then he stomps away with the book in hand.

Ryuk perks up and grins at Papyrus. "Thanks, dude- uh, sir."

"Oh, you're not slipping out of trouble that easily, Ryuk." Papyrus says ominously. "Don't think I missed your little slip-up. You _stole_ that, didn't you."

They stare at him. "Uhh... maybe? B-but I'm _really_ sorry about it, and I would _never_ do it again, so..."

Papyrus scowls, trying to hide his amusement. "You _do_ realize I can tell when you're lying, right?"

" _Shit_." They sigh, then look at him with fake guilt. "What're you gonna do about it??"

"You are going to spar me." Papyrus decides, letting his evil grin loose to play on his jaws.

" _Oh_ , no, _anything_ but tha- wait, what."

"You heard me!! I'm still pissed you lied to me!!"

They spin on their heel and walk quickly towards the door. "Nope. See ya."

Papyrus grabs them by the collar and drags them back. "You're not getting out of this, nyeh heh heh!"

" _Nyee hee hee_ , I'm the grand and sadistic cactus-butt, I'm going to beat my hapless friend up in a _totally_ fair curb-stomp _spar_!!" They mock playfully.

"I- I don't sound like that!!" Papyrus protests. And then their exact words sink in. He drops them, face heating violently. "A-and!!" He starts to protest their casual naming of him as their friend. "And!! Y-you're-! ...It would not be a curb-stomp!!" He changes his mind at the last moment. "You're too slippery!!"

They shrug. "Guess we'll see. I've never sparred anyone before... might be fun."

"It is!!"

The first round of pairs have finished. Papyrus pairs the winners up with each other, then turns back to Ryuk, who has taken to stretching. They scowl mockingly at him when they see him watching. "Done staring?"

"You're fun to watch!!" Papyrus defends himself, then slaps his face. "Forget I said that!!"

"Nope!" They crow, then singsong teasingly, "You think I'm thicc~!!"

"Please, Rifli, let me die in battle so that my faults shall be forgotten!!" Papyrus prays a traditional Klingon prayer of mortification.

"What faults??" Ryuk bleps at him.

"Good point, I have none!!" Papyrus preens.

Dexi stomps up to Ryuk then and they back down. "Flirting with the Admiral is strictly against the rules for his subordinate officers, ensign." She reprimands. Papyrus's face heats. Th-they weren't _flirting_.

"Actually, I'm a lieutenant." They say proudly. "So you can't tell me what to do!!"

They don't deny the charge of flirtation. Papyrus isn't sure if that's a bad thing or not. "It's fine, Dexi, we're just having friendly banter." He tells her.

She stares at him. "You-" She starts to say, then shakes her head. "Fine. Just don't forget what they are, sir."

"Why, whatever could that be?" Ryuk foolishly goads her with a wannabe innocent grin.

" _Unreliable_." She spits back at them.

"I have not forgotten what they've done, Dexi." Papyrus assures her. "But neither should you forget who _I_ was, either."

She salutes unhappily. "Yes, sir."

"Now, Ryuk, what level are you?" Papyrus turns back to them and draws the two rattan practice swords from his inventory, handing one to them. They hold it uncertainly. He shows them how to hold it properly and puts them through some beginner moves to see where they are.

"I'm level zero, sir." They tell him ruefully, their stances shaky and unsteady. He nods in agreement.

"Focus on dodging, then, and watch for an opening to strike. Keep your attention on your enemy and think of your sword of an extension of your body. Always strike for the enemy's body, not their sword. Avoid the sword, attack the body. Now. Face me."

They go into the ready stance he showed them. He keeps his sword with its tip barely above the ground. "Would you rather I move first, or will you?"

"You." They say nervously.

Papyrus slips into motion, striking for their shoulder. They cower instead of dodging and his sword smacks them over their head. "That was terrible." He tells them drily.

"Yup." They groan and rub their head.

"Try again. This time, _dodge_ or _deflect_." He steps away and waits for them to get ready.

"Okay." They say and he strikes again, this time for their ribs. They flinch but manage to deflect his sword away with their own. He brings the sword around for a second strike and they duck under it, then make a sweeping strike for his legs. Papyrus hops over it and his sword thrusts into their gut. They stagger back, choking on air, and he's pricked by guilt. He didn't restrain his strength as much as he probably should have, considering they're a total beginner.

"I- I did it!!" They gasp happily when they regain their breath.

"No, you failed." Papyrus says severely. "I still killed you and you did not land a single hit on me. But, I will allow, you performed _better_ this time."

The final round finishes in the background. Dexi calls him over, having won. Papyrus cuffs Ryuk. "Watch me." He boasts. Then steps into the ring with Dexi, refusing the proffered rapier.

He draws his talwar. Dexi grins fiercely and goes into a ready stance with her scimitar in hand. "Face me." She calls and the spar begins.

* * *

MK hides the book from Ryuk under his pillow, where Luon will never find it. The _nerve_ of that bastard!! His face and neck heat again, but he can't help the smile creeping onto his face.

He heads to Luon's quarters to prepare for the party tonight. Luon greets him with a casual kiss and the two start working on moving furniture, setting up tables, and other party preparations.

A few hours later, a bit before the party starts, Ryuk knocks and comes in without waiting for the answer. "Yo," They say and sit down at the sound system, taking over the role of DJ without invitation. MK doesn't complain. He was going to make them do it anyway. He does, however, go up to them to request that cruder songs be omitted. They salute with a wry grin. "You got it, boss."

"Yo, you have fun getting beaten up?" MK teases them with a note of vengeance.

Their grin turns rueful. "He uses a _talwar_ , Mil-Gwedh."

"And??"

They groan and rub their ribs. "And it turns out he's better at striking than I am at dodging."

"He went easy on you, yo." MK notes. "You should be thankful he was in a good mood today."

"He wasn't, earlier." They frown. "I guess Dexi musta cheered him up."

MK shrugs. "Or, y'know, maybe he likes you."

Ryuk mocks MK's shrug. "We're _friends_ , yeah, he likes me."

"You know what I mean, yo." MK leans in. "Tell me, what's it like being the admiral's favorite person?"

They choke in embarrassed disbelief. "Am _not_!!"

"Everyone knows it, yo. That's why most of the other officers don't like you. They think he's playing favorites."

They consider this. "I- I don't know why he _would_ be, though. I did- something pretty bad to him, in Skoria."

"Yo, K'tolok tried to kill us! You couldn't have done anything worse than that." MK says.

"That's debatable." They mutter. What could possibly be worse?? MK decides he doesn't want to know.

"Anyway, he forgave K'tolok and he forgave you, so I don't see what's stopping you."

Ryuk smacks MK's shoulder. "Good sense." They say. "I'm- _unreliable_. I _lied_ to him, MK, again, I keep lying-" Their hands gesture helplessly. "I don't know how to stop. He doesn't- he _can't_ trust me."

"Yo, then earn his trust." MK slaps their back. "Be someone worth his affection."

"Pfft." They snort humorlessly. "I don't think he would consider _anybody_ worthy of his affection. Least of all-" They choke on their words, staring behind MK. MK goes cold. Whoops.

"Whose affection?" Papyrus questions haughtily. MK sidles to the side to let him join the conversation.

"N-nobody's??" Ryuk squeaks. MK slashes his thumb across his throat. This is their perfect chance! They glare at him. "We- we were talking about Se'Vir and how Dexi has absolutely no chance at all with him." They lie, and it's almost impressive how easily they come up with the falsehood. Papyrus scowls and stomps away without bothering to continue the conversation.

"Wow, you were right, he can't trust you." MK sighs. "You're really bad at this, yo."

"Yeah??" They spit back bitterly. " _You_ try confessing to the person you betrayed."

"So you _do_ like him!" MK chooses to completely ignore one part of their sentence in favor of the other. If he knows anything about Papyrus, it's that the admiral likes to give people second chances, so Ryuk has been forgiven. And if he knows anything about Sans, it's that the ambassador is violently protective of his younger brother, so Ryuk has also been punished. It's distinctly not any of MK's business.

"M-maybe..." They mumble, abashed.

"Yo, you should tell him, then!"

They groan. "Thanks, MK, but you saw us interact just now. That didn't look like two people who like each other..."

"No, it looked like an idiot in love lying about it to another idiot in love who got mad and stomped off to sulk." MK says sagely. "Just tell him the truth."

"No." They decide. "I won't. MK, I will _keep_ lying about it, because Sir Cactus-butt over there deserves better."

"Yooo, look at you being all selfless~" MK croons sarcastically and captures them in a headlock. "That fake bullshit won't help you escape, Ryuk!!" He noogies them as they struggle to escape. 

"Not!! Fair!!" They protest. " _Fuck_ you, let me go, Mil-Gwedh!!"

MK lets go and they scooch away from him, running their hands through their hair to return it to its original state of fluffiness. "Whatever, yo, just don't blame me if you lose him."

"What's there to _lose_??" They demand sullenly, "When I never _won_ in the first place."

"Yo, get the music on. Everyone's coming." MK punches their arm playfully. "Don't let us down."

"You know me." They grumble, but their eyes regain a sparkle. "Since when have I _not_ let you down??"

"True, you never did come in for your physical this year..." MK grins.

"Fuck, I was hoping you'd forget." they shoo him away. "Let me strut my stuff and you strut yours with your ~boyfriend~. And maybe use that book tonight."

"F-fuck you." MK splutters, hot with embarrassment, and he stomps away to find Luon, who has stopped Papyrus at the door and engaged the admiral in a deep conversation about the strategy game Orthor.

* * *

You play different songs for the party, picking ones to fit the mood and occasionally taking requests. It takes effort to not dwell on your conversation with MK. You find yourself stealing glances at Papyrus, who seems to be making a point of ignoring you. Guilt suffuses your soul. You never stopped lying. You _can't_. But if you don't, you could lose him as a friend. You don't really care about romance, but dating him could be cool too. It's fun to banter with him, it's fun to mess with him- he's fun.

Aggelos make a game of lying. It's a game to alter other peoples' perceptions of reality. You've gone too far on multiple occasions. You need to stop. You set the playlist on auto, then almost second-guess yourself, but you stand up and weave through the dancers to where Papyrus sips on the stolen Rigellian wine you brought. He perks up when he sees you, then seems to be fighting to scowl at you. "Lieutenant." He says stiffly, finally winning.

"I'm sorry." You admit. "For lying. Again." You're viscerally reminded of your mother, who always apologized but never changed. You shove the memories out. You won't be like her. "I don't know if I can stop." You tell him honestly.

His scowl falters into a sad frown. You don't like that look, it makes you want to hug him so that he won't look so dismal. "I-" He starts.

"Don't forgive me." You stop him. "Until I do better."

He nods in agreement. "Alright. For every lie you tell me, you will be penalized! You will have to tell me one truth about yourself!!"

"Okay." You concur.

"Okay!! So, what was the truth behind your earlier lie??" He demands.

"I like you."

He stares at you. "I- I know that!! It's obvious, because we are- we are fr-friends!! And- friends don't _lie_ to each other."

You could just let it go. "I mean, I want to hold your hand, and be really annoying in our sparring matches, and banter with you in the halls, and hear your laugh- and- yeah." You half-expect him to laugh and dismiss it. You half-hope he does.

"Nnnh," He growls with a violently red face, then says, "Not yet."

"Wait- you didn't say no..." You say, confused.

"That's right. I said _not yet_." He scowls in a friendly sort of way, somehow. "We're in the midst of a tense situation here and I'm exceedingly stressed. Dating would only pile more stress on me. S-so tell me that again when we're back in the Milky Way, and I'll consider it!! But not yet. You will continue to be my friend, though!!"

"Cool." You say, then realize you should probably tell him the truth about the wine he's drinking, while you're on a roll. He stares at you and then sets the wine down carefully.

"S-SO THAT'S WHERE HALF MY WINE WENT!!" He then screeches and grabs you by the collar, shaking you as he cuffs your head. "YOU THIEF!! RASCAL!! HOW DARE YOU!! TWO WEEKS IN THE BRIG FOR THIS!!"

"Wait, no," You plead, giggling helplessly and cursing your honesty. "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was yours!"

"N-NOT FORGIVEN!! You may finish the celebration, and then it's the brig for you, scalawag!!" He shakes you once more furiously. "I should say I'm shocked, but frankly, Ryuk, your antics have ceased to surprise me anymore!!"

You pout at him and complain, "See why I keep lying?? The truth just gets me into more trouble!"

"If you didn't _do bad things_ , you wouldn't _need_ to lie." He huffs, then grabs your arm and drags you into the mass of people. "Dance with me!"

* * *

Alphys grumbles to herself as she works at her desk. The whole fleet has been catalyzed into a frenzy of activity. It's been twelve days since the celebration ended, and the glamours Papyrus demanded on the last night of the week-long anniversary festival are just about done. Why he would want such weird looking glamours is beyond her, but the goddamned admiral never stopped to ask if she was comfortable creating such abominations.

* * *

Mettaton glares through the forcefield at his slanderer and wannabe murderer, who huddles in the corner of another cell and ignores him. The only thing stopping Mettaton from going through the forcefield with his new legs and strangling them is the thought of what Alphys would do to him if she found out.

* * *

Frisk gets in a runabout thirteen days after the end of the festival with the stolen pages of information Ryuk gathered from the Eru and two bodies. She'll make a way home. She'll be everyone's hero. She locks the drugged bodies of Asriel and Papyrus in the weapons closet before going to the helm. Now nobody will interfere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, not gonna post for a while until I finish the rest of the story, then I'll post it one day at a time ;P Also it might take a bit longer cause I just got a second job. I'd project about two to three weeks. If it takes longer than that, feel free to bug me, lol, and I might drop one or two chapters early. I'll probably actually get it done sooner, but I'm not promising anything, since I want to make sure it's a good ending and not OOC in any way. ;P see ya!
> 
> I dunno if this is a rushed burn or anything, honestly, I'm bad at romance, lol, to me romance is- it's just friends doing intimate friend stuff and bugging each other and helping each other become better people, lol. That's the most romantic thing I can think of, anyway.


	20. no fate but that of which we make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I still have two chapters left to write, but I probably ain't gonna change this one and I think I'll be able to get them done pretty soon, like probably even before the end of this week. Also I'm impatient :P so I'm just gonna post this one now. Enjoy~ 
> 
> Once I finish the whole first draft, I'm gonna go through and revise/edit things, so if you have any problems or suggestions for improvement, let me know :D I already know of a few things I need to edit/add, like Frisk's motivation, lol, or the motivation of the entire fleet for trying to go home. This story could be a lot better ;P
> 
> (also not sure how "climaxy" this is gonna be... it's more like several little bumps instead of one big hill, if that makes sense. probs not very well done, lol, but i've never actually gotten this far with a novel-length story before, so.)

Blaring static harshly awakens you from your uncomfortable position on the cell's metal bed. Dexi's voice cuts in. * _Lieutenant_ _Ryuk, report to the bridge immediately._ *

"I _would_ if I wasn't in the fucking _brig_." You grumble to nobody.

* _Forcefield lowering in three- two- one-_ * You'd swear there's a note of mischief in her voice. The forcefield shimmers and disappears. You hop to your feet and leave the pile of junk in the other cell to rot.

Once on the bridge, you sit down at your station and salute Captain Luon as he sits- hey, why is he in Papyrus's seat? Where's the admiral?

"Papyrus has disappeared. We think Frisk kidnapped him." Dexi says calmly in answer to your confusion. You try to process what you just heard and fail miserably. "Frisk took a runabout a few hours ago and leapt into warp."

"Where is she going?" You ask dumbly.

"We don't know." Dexi says without snapping. She is worried, she's just hiding it, you think. She seems to genuinely care about Papyrus and everyone on the ship.

"Heh." You laugh. "What if she's going back to the _Dai'zhe_ , we'd all _die_ \- oh _stars_ \- _no_." You choke, realizing that's _exactly_ what Frisk, with her moronic hero-complex, would do. _Fucking hell,_ why'd Papyrus have to tell _everyone_ the truth about the wormhole experimentation??

Dexi stares at you in shock, probably realizing the same thing you did. Then leaps into action, calling the rest of the fleet. Something about drones. Drones have found the runabout's warp trail, or whatever.

You don't really process it, too sick at the thought of facing the deadly impassive aliens again. They're going to kill you. _Everyone_ , a little voice corrects, they're going to kill everyone, and you laugh humorlessly at it. You only care about yourself. That's all you've ever cared about. And now, _now_ of all times, your conscience decides to pipe up.

You need to run away. Take a runabout. Never look back. Find a new life with the Eru or something like that. Maybe you can take Cuina. It'll be just you and ker, living like bandits.

Luon's voice cuts through the traitorous fantasies in your mind. "Get Sans, we need both of them to communicate."

You stand up shakily. "I- I'll get him." You say calmly, with an even voice. "If he's napping, he won't hear the intercom."

"Dexi, call him anyway, and Ryuk, go ahead." Luon says tersely. "But return quickly."

You know Cuina won't come with you. Ke likes this ship, these people, too much. Just you, then. "Yes, sir." You lie.

You go down to the runabouts and take one of the Romulan ones. They can cloak. Figure out the controls easily enough, and then slip out of the cargo bay. For your third time flying, you're not half bad anymore. The cloak is on. Nobody can see you. A knot forms in your throat and you fly silently out of the fleet, away from the _Liltha_. A trail of sparkles shines in the viewport, Frisk's warp trail. How odd. Nobody should be able to see it with their eyes- this ship must have a special sensor built into the viewport. You note the fact drily, like one might note the existence of an asteroid field.

Fuck. No. You're not going back. You're _not_ going after Frisk.

But- but if you can _stop_ Frisk before she ever reaches the Dai'zhe... nobody has to die. You try to call for the steel that encased your soul only once before. It fails to answer you. You're left to shakily punch in the coordinates with gut-wrenching terror in your soul. Your hands shudder uncontrollably as you leap into warp after Frisk. You grit your teeth and glare into the sparkling trail as you follow it down.

Faster. Faster. You keep ratcheting up the speed until the runabout rattles around like your bones. You have to stop Frisk and- and save Papyrus.

You can see a speck of silver through the viewport. Zoom in and it's the stolen runabout. It's only going about warp one, while you're nearing warp six. You attempt to slow down quickly, swerving in your warp bubble as you approach Frisk's ship too fast. In the far distance, you see other moving dots.

Then you realize you have no plan for getting Frisk to come back. You'll have to make it up as you go. Improvise. But what can you use? Grappling hooks! As you near her ship, shoot the hooks out at the engine.

You get extraordinarily lucky. The hooks hit and catch, yanking on Frisk's ship. And then you realize your terrible mistake as both ships are flung spinning in four directions at once out of their warp bubbles.

Frantically, you try to regain control. "Sorry, Rus," You mutter, then start tightening the grapple so that Frisk's ship is dragged closer to yours. Finally, you manage to straighten out your ship, and Frisk's ship is nestled close to yours.

You look out the viewport. The black star-speckled expanse stares back.

Then you curse in helpless angry horror as you realize you _can't see the warp trails anymore_. And the other dots are growing steadily larger. You may have stopped Frisk, but how are you supposed to get back before the Dai'zhe catch you?? See what helping people does?? Now you're going to _die_.

* * *

Sans groans as the intercom's frantic yelling wakes him up. "what- asgore, what's going on...??"

"It seems Papyrus has been kidnapped and they require you on the bridge." Asgore replies sleepily.

"fuckin' _what_." Sans sits up abruptly and shortcuts to the bridge. "where's Paps??"

"We believe Frisk took him." Dexi tells him. "A few hours ago... but wasn't Ryuk supposed to get you?"

"i didn't see 'em." Sans shrugs. "that's not important, what's important is why you didn't get me _sooner_."

"We tried." Luon says. "Ryuk was sent down an hour ago..."

"Fuck that bitch." Dexi curses. "I'll bet anything that bastard ran away."

Sans groans and rubs his head. It does sound like Ryuk, poor kid. They're going to be in so much trouble if he ever sees them again. "alright, where'd frisk go?"

"We believe they went to the Dai'zhe; our drones found a warp trail leading in that direction." Luon says.

Double shit. "uh, follow them and capture them." Sans orders.

"We can not, according to the commodore." Luon says calmly, but there's anger burning under his tone. "She believes it is too dangerous."

"follow anyway, on orders of the _ambassador_." Sans can't believe he's actually needing to throw his weight around. 

"Yes, sir." Luon nods to Dexi and she gives the order to K'talla.

The commodore responds by taking the rest of the fleet and warping in the opposite direction. The _Liltha_ is left behind. Sans slaps his face. "really, k'talla? okay. where's your translation notes, dexi?"

"Right here, sir." She produces them. "But-"

"nuh-uh. luon, we're going after them."

The ship leaps into warp, following the scent of idiotic betrayal.

* * *

Frisk rubs her head and pouts. Some invisible bastard caught her ship. Now she can't be a hero. At least her sacrifices are still out cold.

A channel opens from the invisible captor. Frisk almost denies it out of sheer petulance. "What??" She demands.

* _We need to get back! Do you remember the coordinates of the fleet?_ * Ryuk says over the comlink. Frisk claps her hands.

"You!! Ruru!! Play your card game with me again."

* _Would if I could, buddy._ * Their voice says bitterly. * _Obey my orders and we might get out alive._ * 

Frisk groans. "But that's so boring. I'm the hero. I need to save everyone."

* _Buddy, you're not anyone's hero_.* They say bluntly, their words a knife in Frisk's heart. She shakes her head and ignores the _truth_ lies. _*Give up. Come back and let Papyrus be the hero again._ *

Frisk clenches her fists. That utter bastard. _Papyrus_ was never a hero, he only struts and prances about like one. "I defeated Skoria."

* _Heh. Nope. That was me._ * They reply and Frisk's entire world shudders.

"N-no," She cries. "Liar!"

* _Chillax, lady, it doesn't matter since we're going to both die terrible deaths in a few hours anyway. Unless I can figure a way out._ * Panic edges in on their calm tone. _*Can we agree that you will try to be a hero on another day, preferably without endangering myself or Papyrus??_ *

"Fine. But only for you, Ruru." Frisk mutters. She gives Ryuk the coordinates from the runabout's log.

* _Good. Come over to my ship. Bring Papyrus and anyone else you kidnapped._ * Ryuk tells her. " _Quickly._ *

Ryuk helps her transfer the bodies through the two conjoined airlocks. And then cuffs her to a seat and blindfolds her. "I'd rather you not throw up." They explain apologetically, then cuff Papyrus and Asriel to other seats. "I'm kinda fond of this ship."

Her old runabout is let loose with a loud clanking noise. Frisk grumbles under her breath and then chokes as the familiar sudden yank of warp pulls at her gut. Ryuk keeps up a steady stream of chatter, most likely to ward away the panic attack she can hear seeping beneath their otherwise casual tone.

And then they whoop with excitement. "It's the _Liltha_ , Frisk, we're safe!!" And Frisk can't help but be glad as well, hearing them be so relieved. "Oh stars, they're going to kill both of us... but it's a damn sight better than dying by the tentacles of the Dai'zhe, right?"

Frisk pouts and struggles in vain against the cuffs. Ryuk steps up to her and removes the blindfold, but not the cuffs. They have a wild, almost insane, grin on their face as they remove the cuffs from Papyrus and Asriel. The two stir, their drugs starting to wear off. Ryuk flies directly for Frisk's doom.

* * *

Everything hurts. What- what happened...? Papyrus growls in pain. The last thing he remembers is that Frisk invited him over for tea. He didn't want to go, but Frisk said she'd play Orthor with him. And now- now he's in the sickbay...? He rubs his head. "Report."

MK stands over his bed. "You were drugged." The doctor tells him. "Frisk kidnapped you and Bracken."

Papyrus nods like it makes sense. "Why...?"

"Isn't it obvious, yo?" MK says bitterly. "She wants to be a hero again."

"Kidnapping me seems rather counterintuitive to that end." Papyrus notes. "And why didn't she just ask Bracken to go with? That boy is devoted to them."

MK shrugs and ignores Papyrus's confusion in favor of finishing his medical scan. "You're okay, yo. Nothing is permanently damaged."

"Who-"

"Dunno." MK says, frowning. "We're not sure. Frisk appeared back here in a different ship than the one she took. But nobody else was on board. Oh yeah, and Ryuk ran away a while ago."

Papyrus stares at his doctor. "Have you not connected the dots?" He says with forced calm.

"What dots? They ran away, yo, and I'm gonna kill'em if they come back." The doctor attempts a fearsome scowl.

Papyrus stands up abruptly, then regrets his move as all his senses scream at him. It passes in a moment, though, and then he stomps out and to the bridge. It's obvious to him what happened.

On the bridge, he's attacked suddenly with a hug from Sans. "bro!"

"Sans!! I'm okay!! Dexi, send out a ship-wide notice for Ryuk to come immediately to the bridge."

Dexi stares at him. "Sir- they ran away."

"No, they rescued me." He corrects. "There were no other missing runabouts? Only those two?"

"But why- they're-" Dexi splutters in confusion. Sans, too, looks disbelieving.

"Do it."

"No need!" Ryuk drops from the jefferies tube above the bridge and salutes. Everyone stares at them in shock. They rub the back of their neck sheepishly as they grin at Papyrus. "Hi, sir. Glad to see you're not a limp noodle anymore."

Dexi starts towards them. Papyrus stops her with a gesture. "Good job, Ryuk." He says. "Jazz, take us back to the fleet."

"That's the other thing, sir. K'talla took the rest of the fleet and fled." Dexi sits back down.

Papyrus growls under his breath. "Seriously?? Find them."

"Yes, sir."

He's going to have _words_ with K'talla.

* * *

You're giddy, almost nauseous, with excitement as you take your seat on the bridge. You did it! You saved him! You did a brave thing!! ...You never want to have to do another brave thing ever again.

Sans sits next to you. "is Paps right, kid? you didn't run away?"

"I almost did." You say honestly, and then continue with no small amount of pride, "But then I saw the warp trail. And I thought if I could stop Frisk, then- then nobody would have to die."

"aw, kid, i'm proud of ya." Sans lays his arm over your shoulder. "i forgive you."

" _I_ forgive _you_." You repeat haughtily, the soreness of losing your magic now just a dull ache in the back of your soul. You saved Papyrus without needing magic, after all. Maybe you aren't useless. Shit, you're still giddy over _saving Papyrus_.

Papyrus's worried tone cuts in through your happiness, popping it. "Jazz, faster."

"I'm going as fast as we can go, sir, without burning the engines out. They're- they have stronger engines."

Cold ice douses you as you stare out the viewport at the quickly growing ships in the distance- not the other Gil-Mista, but the Dai'zhe. You were too late. Now you- _everyone_ will die because you led them back to the _Liltha_. Maybe K'talla had the right idea... Sans pats your arm and you almost regret thinking that.

"Ryuk, Sans!" Papyrus orders. "Prepare to negotiate. Jazz, cut engines; Suzy, you know the drill."

"Code five-three, yes, sir!" Suzy says cheerfully. You don't know how she can be so chipper at a time like this, how _any_ of them can be so calm.

"they all trust Paps to get'em out alive." Sans quietly answers your muttered thoughts.

Trust is all well and good until the person bearing the weight of that trust is faced with something beyond their power to resist. You don't say this, though. You don't say anything in reply.

The channel opens and the tentacled alien on the viewport says angrily something to the point of, - _You trespass again, no mercy_.-

You can't think of anything to say except _sorry_ , so you direct Sans to make that sign.

- _Not forgiven. But leader only will die this time. Who?_ -

"what did he say?"

- _if no leader, all die._ -

"ryuk?"

- _we wait no longer. point to leader_.-

Stand up. Steel fails to encase your soul. Call on anger instead. You're angry at these people forcing you to choose again. You're angry they're trying to tear apart your newfound courage. You point at your own chest, glaring at them with defiance you don't feel.

- _Lies will not be tolerated.-_ The last rags of your courage are shredded to bits. - _Where is leader._ ** _Now_** _._ \- The last word forcefully impacts your soul and you obey without hesitation, pointing shakily to Papyrus. There's an uproar around you, but you don't really process any of it as the alien continues, - _Punishment for lying, will include you.-_ A light blooms on your chest, mirroring the one over Papyrus's ribcage. It starts to tear you apart, atom by atom.

You can't really focus on anything as everyone is yelling at you all at once. Papyrus just stares at you, a look of shocked betrayal on his face which quickly turns to pain. None of them understood what the alien said. And you can't talk to tell them that the alien gave you no choice, as your breath is stolen away by the hammering vise around your mind and the sheer agony of slow disintegration into specks of light.

Excruciating terror and intense torment winds around your soul and crushes it; with a desperate silent scream, you shatter into nothing.

* * *

Frisk bangs her head on a table, groaning. Asriel is pissed with her. Chara thinks it's fair, but Frisk doesn't see what's _fair_ about it. She had an excellent plan and everything. But now the _Liltha_ is limping back to the rest of the fleet with no admiral and no translator.

"Why so sad?" Gaer questions briskly. "You should be happy! Happy your hero-rival is gone."

"He's dead. Ryuk's dead. We'll die if we ever return." Frisk intones hopelessly.

"What if we _return_ instead?" Gaer wheedles with all his teeth bared. Frisk looks at him. Gapes.

"You- You're the Star!" She cries. "Why didn't you do it before??"

"Only allowed in desperate occasions." Gaer prances around the table. "This is desperate! You Gil-Mista want to go home! I will help and take a runabout for payment!"

"What will you tell them?" Frisk shudders, not wanting to be thrown in the brig with _Mettaton_.

"Tell them Ryuk betrayed them." Gaer flashes a crafty glance at Frisk. "They will never believe the liar." Frisk sees Gaer's still bitter about Ryuk lying to him. "Then you can steal your friends and be a hero."

Frisk nods. "Maybe I should drug Sans this time, too..."

"Good, see? We will be heroes!" Gaer's fur ruffles happily.

* * *

You wake up and stare at the forcefield, one hand pressing to your throat where the violent memory of disintegration and death still lingers in your nerves. "H-how long have I been in here?" You ask Mettaton with a raw voice.

"Fourteen days, _darling_." Mettaton growls back.

What. "N-no, it should be thirteen." You mumble.

"You slept through yesterday. You didn't even hear when they came to extend your sentence after Papyrus went missing- ooo, what _drama_ , I wonder, how does it feel?"

You blink quickly in confusion. "Shit, did you say they extended my sentence...?"

"Yes, keep up, darling."

"And- _fuck_ , Papyrus is missing again... Damn it, Frisk." You growl.

"Ohhh~ How marvelous." Mettaton purrs. "You remember, don't you."

"Yeah." You spit at him. "Now I'm _stuck_ in here, who _knows_ what Gaer told everyone-"

"I do." Mettaton raises his hands. All four of them. "Pick me!"

"Yes, you, the ugly fellow in the back." You play along tersely.

"Gaer says you _betrayed_ everyone and got them all killed." Mettaton smirks. "I wonder why they were all so _quick_ to believe him..."

"I have to get out of here." You grumble. Mettaton stands up and walks out of his cell. You stare at him as he poses lecherously. "How-"

"Shh. Trade secret." He stage-whispers. "What will you give me if I let you go and help you save the day?"

"Uh-" How do you tell him that you just want to run away and never come back??"Anything, I guess." You sigh.

Mettaton frowns and you think for a moment he's seen through you. "Then, darling, I want to go with you. Let me be a hero too."

"Deal." You lie. "Let me out." You have no plan of being a hero ever again. Dying _hurts_ , starsdamnit, and that's all heroes do, get themselves and others _killed_. Papyrus is as good as dead already. It's too late. You- you're too late.

Warm salt runs over your lips and you taste your own tears, _tears_ , you always hated tears, they only ever make the pain worse. Your shoulders shake with sobs as you collapse back onto the metal cot, helpless to do anything, helpless to save anyone. Your few friends are all either dead or think you're a traitor again. There's nothing- there's _nothing_ you can do but run.

"Darling~" Mettaton lowers the forcefield and makes a come-hither gesture, graciously ignoring your crying fit. "The day won't save itself."

Force yourself to stand up and follow him, wiping your eyes and grinding your teeth, attempting to fill yourself with defiant rage so that you don't think about what you're doing. "We should tell Sans." If you warn Sans that the Dai'zhe are going to come, maybe he'll be preoccupied with that and not notice when you desert.

"Sans is missing too."

You stare at him, then shriek quietly, "You couldn't have told me that _sooner_?? Fucking _hell_ , Mettaton, do you realize how screwed we are??" _We,_ as in the rest of this starsdamned fleet; you're not rescuing anyone this time.

"Very, I assume, but such is the fate of a hero!" Mettaton crows. "To fight until death, and to die until victorious!"

You scoff at his creed and stomp out. "We'll need to take two runabouts." The plan falls neatly into place. You'll take Cuina and Mettaton will go alone. Then he can die trying to rescue Papyrus like everyone else and you can run away with your one remaining friend. It's perfect. You barely realize the depth of the coldness in your soul until it's too late. Heh heh. You're Aggelos. Everyone always says Aggelos are sociopaths.

Why should you be any different?

* * *

Mettaton grins to himself as he sashays to the ship bay. He has no intention of sharing the honor and credit. That bastard died the moment they slandered him. They practically begged for a knife in their back when they tried to _kill_ him and got both his legs shot off. Mettaton doesn't forget. And he doesn't forgive.


	21. Of The Countless Specks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left to write.
> 
> Made a minor edit, I retconned the name of the fleet from Mista-Gil to Gil-Mista
> 
> Fun fact, a lot of the words I'm using are taken from one of J.R.R. Tolkien's languages, Quenya   
> If you want, I can put a glossary of them in the final end note.

Cuina's favorite purple non-bird, whom the Ivren calls Dae since ke can't pronounce their actual name, gestures quietly with their hand, so as to not wake the other Ivren sleeping around the soft purple nest in the _broom closet_ , as Dae calls it. Cuina coos and climbs carefully out of the nest, then climbs up Dae to perch on their shoulders. Ke's about half of Dae's height, so being on top of them makes ker feel even bigger. Ke likes being up high anyway, which is why it's more fun to perch on kis other friend, the much taller fellow engineer who also has an unpronounceable name so the Ivren calls him Naka.

"Where do we go?" Cuina warbles, pretty proud of kis purple accent as ke speaks in Federation Common, or Fed-tongue.

"Away." Dae squawks quietly back in Ivren-tongue. They take Cuina to the ship bay and board a ship.

Cuina ruffles kis feathers in excitement and coos back in Ivren, "We should take Gaer! Gaer is purple!"

Dae bares their teeth at Cuina. Ke will never understand why that's seen as a friendly thing to do among the Gil-Mista, as Gaer calls the weird fleet. "Just us, this time."

Cuina snaps kis beak in displeasure. "Take Naka?"

"No."

" _Fuck_." Cuina squawks in Fed-tongue. Dae flinches and glances warily around before setting Cuina in the ship and sitting at the helm. "Are you running?"

"Nnnh." They mutter. "Maybe?" Cuina pecks their arm sharply so that they yelp. "Ow, hey..."

"Red." Cuina chastises them sternly, grabbing their ear with kis wing claw. "Very red."

They mumble as they look down in shame, "It's no use, Cuina. Everybody's going to die. And we need to get out of here if we don't want to die with them."

Cuina pinches their ear and they wince, then ke bats them repeatedly over the head with kis wings. " _Very red_." Ke repeats angrily. "Shame!"

"I'm sorry!" They cry, cowering. "I can't save anyone except you!"

"You saved me!! I don't leave my friends!!" Ke screeches and pecks them again.

Their shoulders shake as water drips from their eyes and they make pathetic mewling noises. "I- I'm _heartless_ , I don't care about anyone!" They wail. "Ex-except m-myself!"

"Red lies!!" Cuina bats the side of their head. "You do too! You're purple!!" They break down and collapse to their knees on the floor. Cuina stands over them, cocking kis head to glare severely at them. "You stay! And you save friends!"

"I- I'm a _coward_ , Cuina." They cry. "I can't save anyone."

Cuina bumps kis head on their forehead. "You saved me." Ke warbles softly. "You can save other friends too."

"I don't have magic..." They mumble bitterly.

"That red dust??" Ke squawks, hiding kis flinch at the mere mention of red magic. The reason ke was exiled... "I help you. Friends help you. We all help each other. That's purple."

"Well, well, well~, how sweet..."

Cuina screeches furiously and fluffs kis feathers as the red robot steps into the ship. "Out!! Out, red dust!!"

The robot bares teeth. Cuina warbles dangerously and steps in front of Dae, fluttering kis wings to appear bigger. "What have we here~?"

Dae sniffles and stands up, patting Cuina's head. "Ch-change of plans, Mettaton." They growl. "We need to warn Luon of the approaching Dai'zhe."

Mettaton claps his four hands together. "Oh, splendid! I'll just pop off and do that then..." He reveals even more teeth. "While you _die_."

Electricity arcs from his hands and hits Dae in the chest, making them scream. Cuina flaps at Mettaton and claws his arm, but the red robot hits ker and ke slams into the wall, falling to the floor with a crooked wing and dull pain beating at the edge of kis skin. Ke staggers to kis feet and screeches.

Mettaton ends the attack on Dae and sashays closer to Cuina. The Ivren cowers as he looms over ker. "Maybe I should take care of you first~" He murmurs. Cuina lets out a terrified purr.

"Nnh." Dae groans and pushes themself up on their hands and knees. "No." They growl. "K-ke didn't do anything wrong. Kill- kill _me_. Leave ker alone."

Mettaton aims a vicious kick at their ribs and they take it, grabbing onto his leg. Cuina pecks at his other leg. "I don't think you _get_ it, darling. I'm the star here. When I say to die, you _will_ _die_." He makes a loud victorious squawking noise, _laughter_ , Cuina thinks it's called, but ke likes Dae's laughter better.

He points a hand at Cuina and ke flinches, expecting to feel electricity tearing through kis muscles. But- nothing. Cuina feels nothing except a warm shuddering body covering them. Ke stares into Dae's agonized eyes as they crouch over ker. The red dust laughs again. Cuina is filled with determined fury. _Nobody_ hurts kis friend.

Magic is red dust. Cuina has always been told that. But right now, if magic can save kis friend, it's all purple in kis eyes.

Mettaton's laughing becomes an agonized scream as Cuina leaps over Dae and reflects the lightning back on him with a wing claw. Kis broken wing heals as the unlocked power floods kis bones and blood. Ke flaps furiously up and grips one of Mettaton's flailing arms to peck his eyes out. The robot screams and falls to his knees, electricity flying in every direction, but Cuina grabs it and redirects it all back to the robot.

Dae lays limply behind Cuina as ke battles the killer robot. Rage for their pain, rage for Mettaton's crimes, rage for the unfair deaths of kis friends: it all fills Cuina with- _DETERMINATION_.

The determination overflows from kis soul and ke screeches angrily, golden fire bursting from kis eyes and beak as the robot crumbles into dust. Cuina closes kis beak with a click and the fires extinguish. The dust doesn't move.

Ke turns back to Dae and nuzzles their limp body with kis beak. They moan softly. Ke lets a little bit of kis power flow into their body, repairing their electricity-ravaged flesh. They blink back water in their eyes and sit up, wrapping ker in their arms as ke sits on their legs. "Th-that was amazing." They murmur.

"See? _Purple_ , not red coward like the robot." Cuina pecks them gently. "You saved me."

"Heh. I think you did most of the saving." They grumble good-naturedly. "Like. Wow. I didn't know you had magic."

Cuina hides kis head in their shoulder. "Don't tell. Magic is red."

"Magic is purple." They reply firmly, petting Cuina's feathers with an absent-minded hand. "When you use it to help."

Cuina considers this. Ke thinks ke agrees with it. "No running?"

They laugh darkly. "I don't think you'll let me. Let's go. Guess I should face the music."

Cuina coos happily and Dae stands up unsteadily, swaying. "Orange, all orange."

Dae's mouth purses. "What is it with you and colors?"

"Colors show truth."

"What's purple, then?" They ask as they walk down the hall and Cuina hops beside them, wishing there were wingy perches on the walls to leap from.

"Purple keeps going. Purple is best." Cuina warbles. "Orange is stupid."

"Well then. I can't argue with that." They say drily.

"Orange rushes in. Orange moves without thinking. Orange sacrifices." Cuina explains more and pecks their leg to make them walk faster.

"But what's red?"

"Red." Cuina spits. "Red is stubborn. Never changes. Stupider than orange. Worst."

"I dunno, maybe red isn't so bad. Staying yourself isn't wrong."

" _Fuck_. What would we use for _really bad, no good_ , then??" Cuina demands. Ke enjoys using the Fed-com swear word. Kis other Ivren friends don't really approve of it.

"What about white? White's boring. It's the absence of all color, it doesn't accept impurities, and it sucks ass." They suggest.

"White." Cuina tries it out. "That robot was pure _white_."

"Yup." They laugh grimly, then grow sober again. "Uh. Thank you, Cuina, for- for making me _orange_."

"You were always orange." Cuina tells them. "All I did was yell at you."

"Maybe that's what I needed." They say thoughtfully.

Cuina perks up. "Anytime you need yelling at, just make me mad!"

They mock-shiver. "N-nope, I saw you turn that white bot to dust, I'm not pissing you off."

Cuina, seeing that they're steadier on their feet now, hops back onto their shoulders and nibbles their nose gently.

* * *

Frisk groans, dangling, trapped in cold metal chains. If only she could tell Gaer to reload, then she could end this nonsense. Papyrus and Asriel and Sans also hang in separate cages beside hers.

"You goddamned _moron_." Papyrus growls. "What the fuck were you thinking, Frisk??"

A tear slips down Frisk's cheek. "I- I just wanted to be a hero." She mumbles. "I thought if I captured you three, I could trade you to the Dai'zhe and they'd be so impressed with my ingenuity, they'd let me open a wormhole! B-but wh-what are they going to do to us now!!"

"torture, probably. they woulda killed us right away if they wanted us dead." Sans says coldly.

"Frisk, you shitty-ass idiot, I'm never kissing you again!!" Asriel cries. "I don't fucking want to be an experiment again!!"

Frisk wails helplessly and struggles in the chains. If only she had her time power. She's useless without it. Everybody hates her. Nobody thinks she's a hero. The pain piles on her, a heavy weight in her chest, sins crawling on her back.

"Silence!!" Papyrus's harsh command causes Chara to choke back the tearful noise. Footsteps approach. Chara has an idea.

A Dai'zhe enters and flicks on a dark green light. It turns to them and considers each prisoner. When it reaches Frisk's cage, Chara winks at it and shoots a finger gun. "Hey, cutie." They purr.

"DON'T FUCKING FLIRT WITH THEM, CHARA, THEY CAN'T UNDERSTAND YOU!!" Papyrus shrieks, frustrated. Or jealous. Chara likes to think he's just jealous. "DON'T THINK I'M NOT PISSED OFF WITH _YOU_ TOO, YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED FRISK."

Chara grumbles and retreats. He's wrong, of course, they're just a ghost, and Frisk is the more powerful of the two. If Frisk is really set on doing something stupid, there's not a single thing they can do to stop her.

The door of Papyrus's cage clicks, unlocking, and his chains drop him to the floor. The Dai'zhe motions for him to follow it. He sends one last glare to Frisk and moves as though he's going to obey.

His talwar appears in his hand as soon as he's out of the cage and he slashes out at the Dai'zhe, who doesn't even have time to scream as it falls limply to the ground, its blood appearing black in the green light. Papyrus cleans his blade. Frisk gapes at him, Chara swooning in the background. He frees Asriel and Sans first, then comes to Frisk's cell. "Swear to me you will not betray us." He growls.

"I swear." Chara says quickly.

"Frisk too." Papyrus demands.

"Fine." Frisk grumbles. "I swear."

Papyrus frees her and she stomps out of the cage. The four sneak through the halls, Papyrus taking point with his sabre. Frisk hangs in the back, avoiding Sans's and Asriel's glares.

They finally find their runabout with minor difficulty, only having to kill two more guards and then get into the runabout and blast off, warping away.

It isn't until they're almost to the fleet that Frisk realizes the Dai'zhe are following them. She cries for Papyrus to hurry; she needs to tell Gaer to reload.

Papyrus docks in the _Liltha_ and stomps up to the bridge. Frisk runs to the mess hall, ignoring Asriel as he yells after her.

"Gaer!" Frisk pants. "You need to return!"

Gaer hisses furiously. "I lost it."

Frisk stares at him. "What??"

"There's a new _Star_." He spits.

"Wh-who??" Frisk cries desperately.

"Not me!" He replies, frustrated. " _Damn_. I didn't stay determined. I lost it." 

Despair flushes through Frisk like a flood of lava and ice. "Get it back!" She demands petulantly. "Get it back, Gaer, or we'll all die!!"

"I can't! Even if I do _get it back_ , it won't help us now!" He snarls. "What happened to being a hero??"

"I- I failed." She mumbles. He shakes his head, ears flattening in disgust.

"Idiot." Asriel says behind her, huffing as he has finally caught up.

Frisk bursts into tears. This is not fair! It's not! Nobody appreciates her!!

* * *

Papyrus strides up behind Ryuk and Cuina as they're walking to the bridge. He shushes Cuina when the bird spots him, then taps Ryuk's shoulder. They yelp and spin, then stare at him, tears welling in their eyes. "I know you missed me, but there was never any doubt of my triumphant return-"

They hug him, burying their face in his scarf. Cuina, annoyed at the sudden movement, or perhaps to give him and Ryuk some space, hops down from their shoulders. "Y-you died. I saw you disintegrate." They cry. He understands immediately.

"Nobody will die this time!!" He crows. "As long as you can assist me in negotiating!!"

"That's what got you killed." They mutter. "They wanted to know who the leader was-"

"And you obeyed them and pointed to me." He says gently.

"Uh." They mumble. "Yeah."

They're lying. But he lets it go. "Of- of course!! Th-they are the superior fighting force, and that is the operative procedure, you couldn't have known they'd kill me." He's never faced anyone with armaments this powerful. They may not be good at physical combat, but- wait.

"Ryuk." He says. "I just realized something." He lets go of them and starts stomping for the bridge, grabbing their hand to drag them along. "I am _such_ a genius!! Not just a genius, a _wonder_!! I am a wonder!!"

"You _are_ , you really are a wonder, sir, but what is it??" They demand.

He stops and grips their shoulders. Cuina, who had just hopped back onto Ryuk, tries to peck his forehead, but he ignores ker. "Physical combat, Ryuk. _Physical combat._ "

"Shit." They say, understanding. "I should have paid more attention in sparring."

"We have no time to lose!!" Papyrus crows, then grabs up their hand again and starts running for the bridge as they struggle to keep up, with Cuina squawking excitedly. "OH!! And Ryuk!!"

"Wh-what??" They ask breathlessly as they manage to keep stride with him.

"I lied!! You're going to have to infiltrate them after all!!" He reaches the bridge and skids inside, grabbing the door to slow down.

"Fuh- _fuck_ you, cactus-butt." They pant as they stagger beside him. Cuina, surprisingly, is still perched on their shoulders, and looks altogether too happy about getting such a wild ride.

His officers stare for a moment at the sudden entrance of the trio. "Sir!! You're safe!!" Suzy breaks the awkward lull. "These guys are coming after us again, what're your orders?"

"Form away teams and get all our best fighters into the runabouts!" Papyrus commands. "We're taking them down old-school style." Suzy whoops at that. Everyone else just looks stunned, but they obey quickly as Papyrus rattles out more orders. "Dexi, I'm depending on you to coordinate all this, and for fuck's sake call K'talla already to let her know; Jazz, keep our ship moving in evasive maneuvers!"

Dexi and Jazz salute. "Ryuk, go to the _Heryn_ and get the glamours from Alphys!" Papyrus orders.

Dexi glares at Ryuk. "Sir, Luon heard from Gaer that they got everyone _killed_ in the last timeline."

Ryuk grumbles, "I did not."

"Obviously, Gaer was lying." Papyrus defends them since they're telling the truth. "No matter! Get to work!" Fierce confidence rises in his ribs. He can do this. He can defeat this foe.

* * *

You head down to the ship bay once more, sighing. Papyrus wouldn't be sending you if he knew that you were just about to run away and never look back. But he's trusting you. You don't want to let him or any of your friends down. So you swallow your fear and dock in the _Heryn_ instead of warping away. Look for Alphys, and you find her wife on the bridge.

"NGAAH, hey, squirt!! Give'em HELL for me!!" Captain Undyne cheers and directs you to Alphys's quarters after you tell her Papyrus's orders.

When you reach the room, you stop in the doorway and gape at the myriad of mechanical sciencey stuff. Alphys tinkers with some gears and then looks up as you knock on the wall and step in cautiously. "O-oh, hey- hey, Ryuk." She stammers and picks up a few crystal necklaces. "Th-these are the- the glamours. P-Papyrus told me- told me you'd c-come."

"Thanks, Al." You grin at her and take them, dropping them into a pocket.

"I- I have something for- for you." She says. You cock your head, interested. She draws out a matte black dagger. "J-just flip the switch on the hilt and it will do this-" Her finger taps a small switch just above where the hilt meets the blade. A puff of smoke blooms, and when it clears, the dagger is a handheld railgun. She grins shyly and flips the switch again; the railgun becomes a dagger in another puff of smoke.

"That is totally rad, but why?"

"I- I made it for the infiltration mission, P-Papyrus told me y-you'd need a weapon."

You grumble at the reminder that Papyrus has been planning on this for longer than he let on. "Of _course_. But thank you, Alphys."

She hands you the dagger-slash-gun and then rummages for bullets, giving you three magazines and a belt to hold them. Then she pauses and motions you to come closer. "If- if you are r-really desperate..." She says softly, almost conspiratorially, "in-inject this in you upper arm." She hands you a hypospray filled with a golden liquid. "C-concentrated DT."

You nod gravely. "Thanks, Al." You tell her, trying to blink back tears. "You're real swell."

"W-win, okay?" She says. "I- uh, d-don't tell Undyne, b-but I'm... pregnant."

You hug her tightly, slipping the hypospray of incredibly volatile magic into your belt alongside the dagger and the magazines. "Alphys, I swear, we'll get you home." You say, steel rising to encase your soul. It's not just about you anymore. MK... Sans... Cuina... Alphys... Frisk... Papyrus. Your friends are all depending on you to be orange.

... _Fuck_ , Cuina's color quirk is rubbing off on you.

* * *

There's no time for mental preparation. There's only the sudden exhilarating chaos of battle. Undyne wishes violently that she could be in a runabout too, boarding the enemy and cutting them down with her sword, but she has a duty to her ship. Each moment is gut-wrenching as the _Heryn_ narrowly avoids and skillfully weaves around the star-like projectiles from the Dai'zhe. The Dai'zhe repeatedly attempt to open a channel, but Papyrus has warned everyone about this already and so Undyne has her coms officer keep it blocked.

"Sir, Papyrus is opening a channel with us!"

"Accept it." Undyne says, then realizes her mistake when a Dai'zhe appears on the screen instead of her best rival. If tentacled bitches can appear smug, she's sure this one does. "Shit, close it!" Lights appear on every officer's chest. "What the hell?? Are we being telepo-aAAAGh!" She screams as the light tears into her soul, ripping her apart piece by piece. "Cl-close the channel!!"

The coms officer somehow manages to block the channel and Undyne falls to her knees weakly, her soul at half HP, but the lights have gone. So they need at least a visual to fire their disintegration, huh?? And they're willing to fake another ship's signature. Undyne orders messengers to teleport to the other ships to let everyone know. Her ship, the Eru ship, is the only one with teleportation, so it will take longer than it should, but- oh goddammit, this is _bad_. Without communications, how are they supposed to coordinate??

The _Ylmev_ answers that by taking seven ships with it and warping away from the battle. Damn K'talla, when Undyne gets her hands on that coward's throat...

The ten ships left are slowly beaten down. Two of them explode as the mini-stars hit. The _Liltha_ shudders and drifts as its engines go down. Undyne screams and has her tactical officer fire in vain at the Dai'zhe ships as they descend on the _Liltha_.

The _Liltha_ explodes in a brilliant flash of white fire that burns itself out quickly. Undyne stares in shocked disbelief. Her officers work around her, trying to evade, trying to fight, but she just stares, furious grief filling her soul. With a cry of determination, Undyne orders the last maneuver she'll ever make. The _Heryn_ blazes towards the closest Dai'zhe ship in a kamikaze dive.

Before she ever reaches the enemy ship, time rewinds and she stammers in confusion as she's left with violent indistinct sensations of vague memories in the midst of a peaceful dinner with Alphys.


	22. noble as the oath we undertake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So close ;P this chapter feels a bit weird pacing-wise but I'm not gonna bother trying to fix it yet.
> 
> Uggghhhh the last chapter is probably the hardest one yet, like, endings are hard... i dunno how to make it satisfying, lol >>

There's a sense of disorientation as you jolt from the reload and realize you're in the _Rysc_ with the pile of dust that used to be Mettaton. Cuina huddles in your lap, shivering. "H-hey-" You choke on your words. You didn't die last time, but you came close. You can tell ke is experiencing trauma from actually dying. "D-death fucking _sucks_."

Cuina warbles, a terrified broken sound, hiding kis beak under your shoulder. "White. Death is white." Ke purrs. You pet kis feathers absently.

"I think we need to try again." You tell ker gently. Ke shudders. "Yeah, no shit, it's scary. _Really_ fucking terrifying- and it _hurts_." You shiver from the memories of your own deaths. "But- we remember." You poke kis wing. "Friends help each other. That's what you said."

Cuina pecks you gently, perking up. "Then. I be purple, you be orange."

"Yeah, you're the smart one, I bumble around." You laugh lightly, despite the roiling in your gut. "We can hide in a nest after we win, deal? I'll even steal more of Rus's wine."

Cuina bobs kis head and pecks you again. "Deal."

"Let's go. We have friends to save!" You pump your fist in the air, forcing a confidence you don't feel. You're really curious why Cuina remembers too, but maybe Ivren just do. Except- there was no indicator of them remembering anything that happened in Gaer's first reload. And why would Gaer just change his save point all the sudden to now, especially when things went so poorly? You're struck with a suspicion, but you don't voice it.

It's only when you start to stand up that you realize you have items which you technically shouldn't have with you at this point in time. Of fucking course Alphys _wouldn't_ tell you that everything on the belt she gave you would stay with you. You mutter gratefully, "Damn you, Al." The salience of the hypospray weighs on your mind. DT is a powerful drug, you know, but it could just as easily tear you apart as help you.

Cuina hops onto your shoulders and you proceed to run wildly down the halls to the bridge, whooping a battle-cry as Cuina screeches happily. At least, until you crash into Papyrus. He catches you and Cuina squawks in annoyance, abandoning you for the taller skeleton.

"Sorry, Rus!" You right yourself with his help and grab his hand to drag him to the bridge. "I have a few things to report!" Faking cheer is all you can do to keep the sick despair from overpowering you. But you don't need magic. You have friends.

Papyrus listens intently as you outline what went wrong in the last timeline. "Alright, then we just need to be faster this time!!" He crows. "I will head to the bridge with Cuina, while you head out to infiltrate! You do have your glamour still, don't you??"

Your hand darts to your pocket, surprised when you feel the crystals inside. If Alphys knows how to make items stay with someone, why doesn't she know how to make memories stay too? Unless she does, and just hasn't told anyone... "Yes, sir."

"Then go!"

"Don't- uh. Don't die, okay?" You tell him.

"Trust me!! We'll all survive!!" Cuina pecks his temple and he glares up at ker, saying severely, "If you peck me one more time, I will pluck and cook you."

"Chillax, cactus-butt, ke just wants a ride." You punch his shoulder and he scowls at you.

"Keep calling me that and you'll find out just how painful _keelhauling_ is." He's apparently in a _mood_.

"Oo~ scary." You mock-shiver at his bluff, then flee before he can grab you, laughing at him. "See ya in _hell_ , cactus-butt!!"

He stomps in the opposite direction, not wasting any more time in banter.

You go back down to the _Rysc_ and fly out of the _Liltha_ , cloaking. It would be easier to be confident if you had someone with you. You try to laugh. " _Hahahaha_." It's forced, but it makes you feel a bit better.

Put on the glamour and you wave your tentacles to get used to them again. You like this. It's almost like shapeshifting. Your mind naturally adapts to the new form and limbs, whereas it would be harder for an actual Human to adapt to wearing a different meatbag around their soul.

"heya."

You carefully do not let the ship swerve out of its warp bubble as Sans startles you. "Hey, bruh." You say, your soul lightening. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"thought i could hide in here and take a nap. heh. guess not. where're you headed, buddy?"

"The Dai'zhe." You say, ignoring the faint undertone of menace. It's understandable that he'd think you're deserting. "Coming with?"

"guess so. can't exactly shortcut through space, after all."

"Why not? Aren't your shortcuts like wormholes?"

"yeah, but the thing about wormholes is that you can't move from one object to another when the two are moving at different relative speeds or different directions. 't's why i can shortcut anywhere inside a spaceship, but can't shortcut from one spaceship to another unless they're moving at precisely the same speed and direction. otherwise i'd end up stranded in space." Sans dumps info on you.

"Oh, okay." You pretend to understand, and then find that his info dump makes no sense."But then how'd they open a wormhole from one galaxy to another?"

There's a clack of bone on bone as Sans facepalms. "uh. i dunno."

"I mean, you can't make two galaxies do that." You continue, feeling smart, which is a rarity, so you treasure it.

"yeah, okay, i got it, kid. maybe they found a way past that. they are super advanced, after all. even though they're kinda weak physically. i bet even you could win a fight with one."

"Wow, thanks." You say drily.

"no problem, anytime your ego needs bursting, _don't_ call me, cause i'll be sleeping." He chuckles.

The Dai'zhe ships grow larger on the viewport. You gulp to wet your dry mouth, clutching Sans's proffered hand tightly. Death and pain don't get any less terrifying by exposure. If anything, you're more scared. But you're also more determined. Because this time you realize you have friends worth fighting for. Even worth dying for.

"L-let me do the talking, kay?" You tell him, struggling to keep your voice light.

"you got it, kid." He slips on his own glamour. You giggle at the stout tentacled lifeform standing in front of you. "what?? no _squidding_ , i rock this."

"Ha ha." You reach out to cuff him but he sidesteps.

"that's a no-no." He chastises with a playful twinkle in his sockets. "i'll have to feed you to the octopuses."

"Shit, don't joke about that." You reply as you dock the runabout in a crevice of the huge ship. Sans cuts a hole in the side of the Dai'zhe ship and lifts it carefully to the side with his magic. Last timeline, when you were alone, you accidentally dropped the hulk of metal and almost got captured.

You slip into the ship, followed by Sans. He replaces the metal in the wall. The other runabouts will be docking on the rest of the Dai'zhe ships soon to board and kill everyone. Before that, you need to get to the bridge of this ship and take control.

One tentacle goes to the dagger in your belt. You force your body to relax and stop trembling. A Dai'zhe comes around the corner and you make pleased clicks, bouncing on your feet in the way that Dai'zhe show happiness. - _Help me,-_ You say, _-I'm new here._ -

- _You are under Commander Falgre?_ \- The Dai'zhe asks.

- _I think so._ \- You roll with it.

- _What about that one._ \- They gesture to Sans.

- _Him too.-_

- _Ah, her new recruits. She's on the control deck,_ \- The Dai'zhe then gives you directions and you sign thanks to them. Sans tries to sign _sorry_ , probably to pretend he knows what's being said, but he ends up saying _ass_ instead.

The Dai'zhe moves their tentacles in a haughty fashion. - _Oh. You're the_ ** _idiot_** _ones our patrons sent.-_

- _No, just him._ \- You say quickly. - _I'm not an idiot!_ -

They bat your head sharply and move on down the hall. The blow stings like angry hornets attacked you. You drag Sans behind you, trying to calm the fast beat of your pulse. Relief floods you as soon as they're out of sight, and you focus on following their directions to the control deck. Where there's going to be a lot more. Shit. "Leave the talking to me." You hiss sternly to Sans.

* * *

The halls of the Dai'zhe ship are silent and mostly empty. Sans tries to mirror Ryuk's body language when Dai'zhe do pass by. Ryuk notices and tries to cuff him again. That's starting to be a bad habit, one they seem to have picked up from Paps. "Just act dumb." They tell him.

"scuse you??"

"Okay, actually, keep doing what you're doing. That'll work." They decide. Sans is pretty sure they just insulted him.

"fine." He says, but now that they've pointed out he looks dumb, he can't help but feel self-conscious about it.

They finally reach what should be the bridge, according to what Ryuk said that the other Dai'zhe said. Sans is painfully aware that his life is very much in Ryuk's hands- er, tentacles, and if the kid decides to sell him out, there's not a lot he can do save kill them before the Dai'zhe kill him.

He doesn't really trust the kid that far. He's fond of them, sure, and he'd hate to have to kill them, but if they make it necessary, he won't hesitate.

He watches as Ryuk sidles up to one of the bigger Dai'zhe and starts to ingratiate themself, probably with flattery and lies. The Dai'zhe bats them with a tentacle and they cower. Sans is about to step in and shortcut them back to the runabout, but they make a gesture with one tentacle, meaning for him to _stay back_. He fumes as the bigger Dai'zhe shakes them like a rat and then shoves them. They bow and make more signs and clicks- he recognizes the word _sorry_ in there somewhere. The kid better know what they're doing.

He looks around while they work their questionable charm. The bridge seems to be in the very center of the ship. If he found out where the engines were, he might be able to get the information somehow to Paps so that it'd be easier to destroy the ships.

He decides to leave the kid to their own devices. Paps never intended for him to come along in the first place, so he figures Ryuk can handle it on their own. It'll be safer for both of them this way. He leaves the bridge without looking back and wanders the halls, listening for the telltale hum of fusion reactors. Ships this big have to be using fusion, there's no way around it.

As he travels, he maps the interior. Armaments, what appears to be a sickbay, cargo bays, barracks. Finally, he finds what seems to be the fusion reactors and engines. There are Dai'zhe working around them, so he can't do any sabotage, but he makes a note of where he is in the ship. Unfortunately for Papyrus, they're too deep in the ship to be able to destroy easily. He slips out and shortcuts back to the runabout.

* * *

MK follows his team inside the Dai'zhe ship. Green light fills the halls. Luon gestures with his phaser, his ears attuned for every stray sound. MK's hand goes to his railgun. His triquarter and medkit hang over his shoulder. Luon's team follows him through the ship. Luon stops the group of eight with a hand by an intersection, listening. Then signs that there's one enemy around the corner. One of the crew steps forward and fires, then ducks back into cover.

Luon nods. It's safe. The team splits into four each and separates. They need to find the bridge and the engines. As they come across more Dai'zhe, they quickly dispatch each one. Papyrus was right, the enemy is weak. They don't seem to be carrying any weapons, as though infiltration was never a concern for them. And the Gil-Mista have been doing this for years; both the Alliance and Dragonfly factions have experience in boarding enemy ships with guns and knives.

They come across two Dai'zhe who dodge the lasers and race closer. MK draws his railgun and pushes Luon behind him, firing into the enemy. One falters and falls. The other is almost on him but Luon's hand yanks him back. The Ferengi slashes with his drawn sword. The Dai'zhe falls.

It's necessary to not spare a single enemy they come across. MK hates it, but he knows that this is the standard modus operandi for when enemy ships require boarding to be defeated. If they leave any alive, the survivors will find a way to strike back. That's the mistake Frisk made, after all. She took captives and allowed surrender. But boarding is always used as the very last resort. MK knows Papyrus is desperate. The Dai'zhe will show no mercy to them. So they need to be preemptively merciless in return.

* * *

- _Useless fool_.- Captain Falgre gestures angrily when you fail to demonstrate any knowledge of the armaments system. You cringe, expecting the harsh blow she doesn't fail to deliver. - _I should disintegrate you._ -

- _Please, I'm sorry! The patrons didn't teach me this!-_

She hits you again, her tentacles leaving painful welts behind. - _Don't speak of our patrons like that_.- You bow hurriedly, ducking the third blow.

- _Forgive me._ \- You're trapped in this situation, kissing up to the superior officer but failing to please her, and until you can prove you belong here, you won't be free to look through the consoles and figure out where the wormhole thingy is. Sans is gone. You hope he's safe and not getting into any trouble.

- _What can you do??_ \- Falgre demands.

- _I... I can cook? Clean?-_ You offer weakly. It's hard to tell half-truths without full-on lying yet still deceive everyone, as the Dai'zhe seem to be able to tell when you're lying. Falgre smacks you again and you force back a whimper.

- _Useless! For a spy, you're terrible at it._ \- You're struck by a spike of helpless terror, backing away and wishing Sans was here to shortcut you out. How does she know?? - _The patrons should have sent a smarter one. Out of my sight before I have you given to Cele._ -

You have to stay on the bridge. That's where you'll be able to find the coordinates. - _Please, I can learn!_ -

- _Then learn while Cele is slicing you open_.- Falgre replies with a backhanded blow that leaves you reeling. - _Out of my sight_.-

Another grabs you and starts dragging you out. You struggle, then leap back into the bridge as soon as you break free. One tentacle goes to your dagger and flips the switch. Slam the button on the wall marked with 'Emergency lockdown' and the door slams closed. The Dai'zhe descend angrily on you, but you draw the railgun and start firing. Falgre is the first to die. The other four on the bridge soon follow.

You don't have time to think about the fact that you just blew your cover. You go to the com console and search recent contacts. Accidentally open a channel to another ship. The captain doesn't look happy to see you standing amidst several dead bodies. You press a few buttons, trying to close the channel, but all you end up doing is set target lights on each officer in the other ship. You give up and go to the nav console as the Dai'zhe disintegrate in the background.

The door shudders. You frantically search for anything in the nav history that might be a station or a science vessel. But how are you supposed to be able to tell??

Oh. There's something. It says 'Experimental Wormhole Transportation'. That looks promising- the door slams open. You back away, raising your railgun. Your heart pounds in your throat. One tentacle goes to the hypospray. Then falls away. You might need it in a different timeline.

A familiar Klingon peeks in. You could almost laugh in relief, except that you're forced to cower behind a chair because she immediately opens fire. "Wait, don't shoot!" You cry and slip off your glamour. "I'm the good guy!"

"Ryuk??" Carbon demands.

"Yeah!!" You stand up, a grin cracking across your face. " _Wow_ , am I glad to see you."

Carbon grins as well, gesturing to the bodies on the ground. "Not bad!! Did you find it??"

You go back to the nav system and find the coordinates for the promising name. "Of course, dude." Translate the numbers and write them down. Papyrus will be pleased with you.

* * *

Frisk grumbles, pacing in the brig. Asriel is gone. He locked her here and abandoned her. Her, the hero who's done so much for everyone, who's sacrificed everything. Goddamn unrateful morons, as soon as she gets back to the Milky Way, she's fucking reseting and killing them all at least ten times. Chara growls at her, but she ignores them. Next time, after she's done killing him over and over, she's leaving Asriel stuck as Flowey.

Gaer comes up to the console outside and bares his teeth at her. "What, you're giving up?"

"No fucking way." Frisk growls. She'll be the hero if it kills her.

* * *

The battle ends with the Gil-Mista as the victors. Papyrus strips the ships of valuable technology and resources. The fleet spends a week repairing their damaged ships and preparing for their first and grandest heist ever, to steal a wormhole.

The holomap glows in the soft darkness of the navigation room as Papyrus and Luon chart a route to what hopefully will be the way home. Alphys works with the other engineers to attach new weapons based on the Dai'zhe tech, and to adapt the teleportation devices and install them onto every ship. The fleet readies itself to warp onward with determination.

* * *

Wine tastes really good, Cuina decides, as ke dips kis beak in the bowl Dae set on the ground for ker. Ke's wrapped in a cocoon with a purple hoodie. Dae slouches beside ker, covered in blankets and sipping from a goblet. "Fucking hell, mav, I never want another adventure again." They laugh lightly. "You're a purple hero, that's what you are." They lift their goblet slightly in Cuina's direction, then down the entire thing and pour themself some more. Cuina drinks some more of kis own slowly, enjoying the way it warms kis breast and dulls the pain of memory in kis head.

Ke then pecks kis friend's arm when the bowl is empty. Dae giggles, a slurred happy sound, and pours some more, almost spilling. They've already filled and emptied their goblet around six times. Cuina has heard of Ivren going insane after eating fruit that was left in the heat for too long, but ke never made the connection until Dae told ker that fermentation and drunkenness is a thing. Ke thinks wine is extremely purple, but going insane would be rather more _white_. Ke pecks Dae to stop them from pouring themself another drink. They pout and say with slurring words, "We ne- need this, mav. Let me- let me get drunk." Then they giggle again and hiccup, cuddling around the Ivren. "Fuck those octopuses, neh?"

" _Fuck_!!" Cuina agrees, light buzzing and sleepiness consuming ker.

There's a knock on the door. Dae tries to frown, but then giggles. "Come- come in." They say cheerfully. The door cracks open and the tall leader who's fun to sit on looks inside, his teeth turned down and eyes narrowed. "Oh, Russs," Dae says, pouting at him. "We ain't _drinking_ , nnooo~, you shhould join us and have a- a glass!" Cuina pecks them. "Owie." They mumble.

"FUCKING HELL, RYUK??" They wince at the loud voice. Cuina shrinks. "WE'RE TRYING TO GET READY FOR A HEIST, AND YOU'RE GETTING _DRUNK_ INSTEAD OF DOING WHAT I _TOLD_ YOU TO DO."

"I need this." They grumble. "We both do."

"OH, SO YOU'RE BEING A BAD INFLUENCE ON CUINA NOW, TOO. WONDERFUL. DO YOU JUST NOT CARE?? ALSO, WHY THE FUCK WAS SANS _CORRECT_ ABOUT YOU HIDING IN A BROOM CLOSET??"

"Not fair." They growl. "You're- you're being annnh- an asshole... And I live here!"

Rus grips his forehead with his fingers and lets out a huff. " _Fine_." He relents. "I'm _stressed_. And you're not helping."

"Wine'll help." They say sagely. Cuina squawks kis agreement.

Rus glares at Dae. "Ryuk." He says in a dangerously soft voice. "That's my wine, isn't it. _Again_."

Dae winces. "Mmmayyyybe?"

Rus looks ready to yell at them again and Cuina hides kis head under a wing. But then there's a thump. Cuina peeks to look. Rus has flopped into the nest and holds out a hand expectantly, still scowling. Dae pours him a glass. He throws it back, downing the entire thing at once and holds it out again for more. When Dae tries to pour themself another drink, Cuina pecks them and Rus cuffs their head and takes away their goblet. "No more for you, scoundrel." He chastises sternly. "You're lucky I've decided to let this go and not throw you in the brig for theft and drinking on duty."

"You- you're _deplorable_." Dae whines, then giggles, "Deplorably _cute_ , is you~." Cuina pushes kis bowl away with kis beak. Ke does not want to go insane like Dae has.

"Ryuk?" Rus growls, but his jaws twitch like he's holding back a smile.

"Yyyyeah?" They grin a silly grin.

"Shut up and let me drink."


	23. Of Dust In This Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> graphic violence in this chapter, like, I'm pretty sure this chapter is probably the most violent so far, so I thought I should warn for it so nobody's taken by surprise.

As the fleet heads into the wormhole experimentation zone, they avoid the nebula traps when their sensors spot them in the distance. Everyone knows how to escape now, but getting caught would waste time and potentially alert more Dai'zhe to their presence. Sans sits in Papyrus's chair on the bridge and growls out orders, annoyed that his brother has disappeared.

After several hours have passed and Papyrus still doesn't appear, Sans shortcuts to Ryuk's broom closet to see if they've stolen his brother. He knocks on the door and hears Cuina squawk a rough "Come in!"

Upon opening the door, he groans. "Paps..." Papyrus and Ryuk are cuddled together and asleep on the mess of clothes on the floor that Ryuk's Ivren friends like to rest on. He'd better get Ryuk away from Papyrus, lest his brother, who's been waspish lately, wake up and think the kid took advantage of him. It's obvious the three all got drunk, with four empty bottles holding witness and Cuina wincing at the light. He lets the door swing further and steps inside.

"Uggh." Papyrus groans as the light touches him and tightens his arms around Ryuk, pulling them closer like they're a pillow.

"shh, paps, go back to sleep." Sans hums. Papyrus nods tiredly and goes still. Sans carefully extricates the sleeping Ryuk from Papyrus's arms, slipping a balled up blanket in their place. Ryuk mumbles nonsense under their breath and drags Sans down into the nest, cuddling up with him instead. Sans growls in annoyance, but doesn't try to fight it. Not even when Cuina flops on his ribcage. And then Papyrus sleepily decides to join the pile by curling around Ryuk again. Sans is going to be in trouble when Papyrus wakes up for not rousing the cantankerous younger brother, but for the moment, he's tired, so he enjoys the peace. The only thing that could make it better would be if they'd saved him some wine.

Said peace doesn't last long. Ryuk is the first one to come to full awareness. They giggle at the situation they're in, but it turns to a groan as their hangover hits them. "Owww..."

"that's what you get for getting drunk on duty, brat." Sans reprimands. "i should tell Paps to throw you in the brig, but then he'd have to put himself in too for doing the same exact thing. i swear, you two are such bad influences on each other."

"Wow, you think? Thanks, Sans." They growl.

Papyrus wakes up then and grumbles, "Where am I??"

"in ryuk's broom closet. i hope your headache hurts like hell." Sans says kindly. "what the fuck, Paps, you just _left_ me in charge, didn't say anything about where you were going, and you just disappeared. and now i find out you were getting drunk with the kid here. real mature of you, bro."

"Fuck off, Sans." Papyrus growls. "I didn't get dru-" Sans claps his hands sharply. " _Ow_ , Fucking _Hell_ , Sans, Why??"

"no lying, bro." Sans chastises. "you two should both be put in the brig, but frankly we need you on the bridge doing what you should have been doing _hours_ ago."

"Fine." Papyrus grumbles. "We'll be up in a moment."

"good." Sans says sternly, then shortcuts back to the bridge, glad he turned the tables before Papyrus had a chance to be mad at him.

The two don't arrive within ten minutes. Nor within thirty. Then it's an hour and they still haven't shown up. Sans grumbles under his breath, ready to be furious with both of them, and he returns to the broom closet.

Cuina lays there, sleeping peacefully, but all alone. There's no sign of a struggle. They're just gone. Sans tries to wake Cuina and smells something weird on the Ivren's breath. Ke's been drugged.

* * *

Frisk and Gaer drag the two prisoners through the halls to the ship bay. Ryuk will translate for her, since Gaer can only translate spoken languages, and Papyrus will be collateral in case they try to refuse. It's perfect. Frisk could laugh at the simplicity of it. All she had to do was have Gaer offer them drugged tea. The two seemed hungover as well, so that made it even easier.

Chara tries to rage at her. But Frisk has gotten good at blocking out the voice of the soul. Chara finally gives up and sulks in the background. Frisk feels the two glamours in her pocket. Ryuk has a cool dagger in their belt, so she takes it and puts it in her inventory. Chara refuses to give it a cool name or tell her anything about it.

Frisk throws the two drugged prisoners into the Cardassian runabout, the one that can cloak, heh. She won't be tracked down this time. She flies out and punches in the coordinates Gaer stole from the nav system, then makes sure to turn the cloak on. The ship leaps into warp. Gaer chitters excitedly beside her. "We're going to have an adventure!"

"Wake Ryuk." Frisk orders. Gaer goes up to them and pushes a wake-up pill into their mouth. They gag on it, choking, and Frisk snaps, "Pour water down their throat!"

Gaer obeys. Ryuk's throat bobs as they swallow the pill and the water, then they choke and hack, sitting up to cough all the water out of their lungs. " _Hell_ ," They gasp as soon as they catch their breath, "Are you trying to kill me??"

"Not yet." Frisk replies cheerfully.

"Oh, okay." They accept that. "Question."

"Yeah?"

"Where the fuck are you going? And why'd you drug us, bitch??" They demand. Gaer clicks his tongue threateningly but Frisk gives him a quelling look before he can poison them.

"You're going to help us." Frisk tells them. "We're going to go open a wormhole and get everyone back."

"Uh _huh_." They groan. "Damn it, couldn't you just wait for Rus to do that??"

"But he's not the hero, silly." Frisk giggles, hiding bitterness. Papyrus is just an obstacle.

"Oh." They say as though they understand. They stand up, swaying. Frisk tenses, ready to dodge their attacks. "Chill, girl. What can I do??" Their hand strays to their side, then they frown. "Okay, I guess the right answer is _absolutely_ _nothing_ , because you stole my dagger."

Frisk glares at them. They raise their hands in defeat and sit down. "You are my translator, Ruru!"

"Okay." They shrug.

"And if you do it wrong, I'll kill Papyrus!"

Their eyes widen despite their obvious attempt to remain unflinching. "Uh-"

Frisk continues, "I've done it before! I'll do it again, however many times it takes to make you obey!"

They gulp heavily. "No- no need, I- I'll do what you want, _fuck_ , give me a starsdamned break already." The last part is muttered under their breath.

"Alright," Frisk relents, "Gaer will break your arm for your first disobedience. The second time, though, Papyrus dies."

" _Shit_ , bitch, I'll do what you want, okay?" They snap, hiding their fear pretty poorly. "It's not gonna be my fault when it all blows up in your face though, it'll be because you're a fucking _moron_."

Frisk nods to Gaer. Ryuk yelps and cowers as the Rrkhir leaps at them. A crack snaps through the small space and Ryuk falls to their knees, sobbing pathetically with one arm dangling loosely and unnaturally bent. "Strike one." Frisk growls at them. "You mouth off to me one more time and Papyrus dies. It'll be your fault."

"What- what are you going to use as collateral after that, huh??" They manage to choke out past their pain.

Frisk glares and is ready to draw the dagger and stab Papyrus right now for their insolence, but they're right. She has nothing else, especially if they're willing to die rather than help her. "Fine. Shit-talk all you like, just translate correctly and don't let me or Gaer die."

They nod tersely. "Deal. You're an idiot and this will never work."

Frisk snaps to Gaer, "Other arm."

Ryuk shrinks, shielding their threatened limb. "Wait! No, please, I'm sorry!!"

Gaer looks back to Frisk. She considers them, fury pulsing in her chest. "Do it."

Ryuk fights back as Gaer attacks them. They manage to throw the Rrkhir across the ship. Frisk grabs them by the throat and forces them down to the floor as they struggle. Gaer takes their wrist in his claws and then stomps his feet on the center of their uninjured arm, snapping it as they shriek.

"Do you want me to break your legs next??" Frisk demands. Ryuk sobs and shakes their head. "Then no more talking."

"How-" They start, then flinch as Gaer growls at them. But, to Frisk's surprise, they foolishly continue, the light of ire burning deep beneath the pain in their eyes. She motions for Gaer to let them continue. "Just wondering- How am I- am I supposed to- to _sign_ to them- with no _arms_ -" They say with wryness hidden under their agony.

"The glamour, duh." Frisk dismisses their concern.

"But-"

" _One_ more word. I _dare_ you to test me." Frisk growls. Ryuk grits their teeth and glares sullenly at the ceiling, laying limp on the floor,tears running freely from their eyes.

Chara mutters that Frisk has really gone off the deep end. Frisk shoves them away. She's supposed to be the hero, but Ryuk and Papyrus keep getting in her way, so they deserve everything she does to them. Gaer happily chatters to Frisk, but Frisk doesn't reply, brooding darkly.

Eventually, Papyrus stirs and comes to. He's been cuffed to his chair and there's a magisuppressor around his neck. "What the _fuck_ , Frisk??" He demands. Ryuk moans weakly from the floor. Pathetic. Frisk has been through much worse and survived. Papyrus notices Ryuk and blinks. "Frisk." He says softly.

"Yes, Papyrus?" Frisk asks, simpering.

"What have you done to Ryuk." Papyrus snarls. "What the fuck are you doing??"

"Ruru wasn't obeying me." She complains. "If they translate wrong, you're dying." Chara protests in the background but Frisk slams them down.

"Chara. Stop Frisk." Papyrus orders. Chara fights to obey. Frisk grips her head and groans.

"F-fuck you, Papyrus, Ch-Chara has no power! They never had a choice!" She crows as she locks Chara out. "And if you disobey, I'll break more of Ruru's bones!"

Papyrus nods carefully. "Alright. May I heal them?"

Frisk glares at him. "No, dummy."

"You want to use them, don't you?"

"The glamour will-"

"The glamour won't fix their broken bones." Papyrus growls. "Let me heal them, and then they'll be useful to you."

"O-okay, but no betraying me!" Frisk relents and unlocks his cuffs first, then takes out the dagger and holds it to his back as she unlocks the magisuppressor collar.

He kneels beside Ryuk and covers their arms in green fire. They gasp and keen from the burning pain that magic healing always brings with it, but they remain still until Papyrus is done, and then push themself up unsteadily to wrap their healed arms around Papyrus's ribcage. Papyrus murmurs softly to them as they nuzzle their face in his scarf, probably sweet nothings, but Frisk pokes him with the dagger anyway.

"Okay, no sappiness." She snaps the collar back around Papyrus's neck. He nods obediently even as Ryuk glares at her. He cuffs them in warning and they make an attempt to reform their face to something more submissive. Frisk smirks. Papyrus is smart. He knows it's best to obey her.

Gaer lets her know that they're nearing the wormhole station. Frisk claps her hands and slips on her glamour, handing the other to Gaer. "Put yours on." She commands Ryuk. They obey and she's pleased that they remain silent. "Good job, Ruru. You may talk now." She graciously allows.

They open their mouth, probably about to say something foolish and angry, but Papyrus gives them a stern look and their jaws snap closed. The station grows larger on the viewport. "Frisk, what exactly is your plan?" Papyrus asks.

"I'm going to make Ruru find the wormhole console and then I'm going to make one!" She says cheerfully. "And then we'll go home and I'll be a hero!"

* * *

As soon as Cuina wakes up, ke realizes there's a problem. Ke never sleeps that deeply. It could have been the alcohol, but then there was Gaer with the tea that tasted weird. And now the _Liltha_ is on red alert. Cuina flies through the halls to the Engineering bay and lands on Naka's shoulders. "What happened??" Ke squawks.

"The admiral's disappeared."

Cuina warbles angrily. "Where's Dae??" Ke asks.

"Ryuk? They're gone too." Naka replies, petting Cuina. Ke nibbles his fingers. "Frisk kidnapped them."

"Save them!!" Ke demands. "We need to save them!!"

Naka frowns, his tail lashing. "Sorry, mav, I'm just an engineer."

Cuina screeches angrily and grabs him by the tail, dragging him out. "We're going!!"

"Okay, okay!!" Naka is trying to not laugh. That only makes Cuina angrier.

"Not funny!" Cuina snaps, reaching the hall.

"I know, I'm sorry." He looks suitably ashamed as he walks at a brisk pace following Cuina. "But how are we supposed to save them by ourselves?"

"Get friends!" Cuina warbles. Bright determination floods ker.

Naka and Cuina go to sickbay first, where Cuina knows Dae's friend Emkay works. "Emkay!" Ke screeches. "Save Dae with us!!"

"Who's Dae??" Emkay wonders.

"Ryuk." Naka explains.

"Yo, what are you doing, N'kha?" Emkay asks.

Cuina bats him with a wing. "No questions!!"

"I'll help you, yo, but I'm the superior officer, so I'm giving the orders." Emkay takes charge. "Hm. Frisk stole them, so we should probably get Toriel, she might be able to calm them down. And- not Sans, he's weak and lazy, and the fleet needs him more. Luon- the fleet needs him too. Hm. Yo, Alphys! Alphys can come with us, too. N'kha and Cuina, get Toriel, I think she's on the _Alaco_ , and I'll get Alphys. We'll take a runabout to chase down Frisk after that."

"Yes, sir." Naka salutes. Hope builds in Cuina's chest as ke sits on Naka's shoulders. Ke's going to save kis friends.

* * *

MK buzzes with excitement. He probably should report this to Luon, but he's always wanted an adventure, always wanted to sneak off and do something brave. He has a feeling Ryuk's gotten away with doing something like this before but he can't remember the specific details. He teleports to the _Heryn_ and goes to Alphys's quarters. "Hey, Al," He hisses.

"H-huh?" She peeks out. "Oh, h-hi, MK. How's your gl-glamour?"

"It's great, Al, I need your help, yo! Do you want to go on an adventure?"

Alphys glances behind herself to where Undyne sleeps on the bed. "U-uh- okay."

"Great!" MK grabs her and drags her along with him. He teleports back to the _Liltha_ with her and gets into the chosen runabout, a Kzinti one, chosen for the purple highlights on the interior and N'kha's familiarity with the type. N'kha and Cuina are already there with Toriel and, surprisingly, Bracken as well. MK hops inside and helps Alphys. She grunts, slightly thicker than she used to be.

N'kha flies the runabout out and sneaks through the drones, then leaps into warp in the direction of the station the fleet was supposed to head for tomorrow. MK hands out weapons and outlines the plan.

* * *

Frisk has your dagger. You huddle in the corner, unable to take satisfaction from your new form. She didn't see your hypospray, though, and she never touched the bullet magazines. The sharp burning pain of broken bones still lingers in your memory, unable to be erased. Gaer paces around Papyrus, threats in his growls. Despite being half your size, he's strong.

The situation is hopeless in your eyes. There's nothing you can do except keep your fool mouth shut and hope Papyrus comes up with a plan. Frisk docks on the science station and starts to cut an opening. You sidle to the helm and _accidentally_ decloak the ship, then follow Frisk and Gaer through the hole. Frisk turns back and gestures for Papyrus to follow. He obeys in silence and Frisk closes up the wall again.

"I need a weapon." You tell Frisk. Gaer growls and you fight to not flinch.

She laughs. "Silly, no, you don't. We'll protect you." A Dai'zhe comes down the hall and Frisk hides behind you. You sigh. She pokes you. "Translate!"

- _Hi, I'm with these idiots, we need to find the wormhole control room_.- You tell the Dai'zhe.

- _I can show you!_ \- The Dai'zhe responds and you're surprised that they actually seem cheerful. - _I see you have a prisoner, too._ -

- _Yeah, we're, uh, guarding him for today. I'm Dae._ \- You greet.

- _Epic, I'm Roq!_ \- They say. They're weird. - _Want to take him to the subject room first?_ -

- _No, he needs to stay with me, otherwise I get in trouble._ -

- _Ohhh, yeah, he's one of those. He looks so innocuous though, not like a threat._ \- They make signs of amusement.

- _You should see him with a blade. He's killed lots of ours._ \- You tell them.

- _What ship were you on?_ -

- _U-uh, I was under Captain Falgre_.- You shrug. That works. Roq accepts this and starts leading you down the hall. You motion for the others to follow.

- _Why aren't they talking??_ \- Roq asks, gesturing to Frisk and Gaer.

- _They- uh. Different dialect._ \- You explain.

You and Roq keep up a steady stream of conversation until they guide you into a room filled with consoles. - _I guess you're learning the ropes today, huh._ -

You confirm this absently. - _Mind showing us some emergency procedures, unless you have something better to do?_ \- You ask. You'll make sure they're not in the room when Frisk puts it on lockdown and kills everyone inside. They're the first nice Dai'zhe you've met.

- _Sure!_ \- They say. They show you the lockdown procedure first, then they show you the procedure to shut down an errant wormhole. You keep an eye on Frisk and Gaer. Frisk glares warningly at you, one hand on your dagger and the other gripping Papyrus's arm.

- _Hey._ \- You tap Roq. - _I need to confess something_.-

- _What?_ -

You glance back nervously. Then sign, - _He's not a prisoner. He's my friend and those two are threatening him and me. They're planning to take over this room and create a wormhole._ -

- _Why tell me??_ \- Roq asks, accepting your words.

- _Because you're kind and I don't want you to die._ \- You say. - _Leave the room and sound the alarm, and whatever you do, don't attack them. They'll kill you._ -

- _Thank you._ \- Roq gives you a pat. - _Good luck._ -

Roq calls the other Dai'zhe in the room. Frisk glares suspiciously at you when they all leave. You don't say anything to her, and initiate lockdown for the room. "Alright, you can do your wormhole thingy now."

"You have to do that, too, dummy." Frisk snaps. "We can't read the symbols, remember??"

You heave a sigh and go to the consoles, trying to figure out what everything does. "You'll have to do what I say." You tell them both.

Gaer hisses, "We can't trust you. Why'd everyone leave??"

"Because they didn't want to die." You say honestly.

Frisk gasps angrily and presses the dagger to Papyrus's neck. You notice he almost got the collar off. Shit, you interfered with his plan. "How dare you!! You disobeyed!!"

"If you kill him now, Frisk, there will be nothing stopping me from ending lockdown and turning you in." You threaten, feeling that the power dynamics have shifted. "You won't be able to make a wormhole and you'll die in disgrace."

Frisk stares at you stupidly with her round Dai'zhe eyes. "Y-you!!" She shrieks. "You bastard!! Make the wormhole or he will die!!"

"Alright. What coordinates?"

Frisk gapes. " _Hell_ if I know, you're supposed to just make it!"

"The thing about wormholes, Frisk, is that they need coordinates for the entry and exit points." You intone sagely, regurgitating information you got from Sans. "And you, a moron, neglected to get either."

Gaer starts forward angrily and one of your tentacles drops to your hypospray. If you have magic, you might be able to fight them both off and rescue Papyrus. But Frisk notices.

The dagger slashes across Papyrus's neck bones and his sockets bulge in shock. "Wait!" You cry too late as he falls to the floor, trembling and mute with the sudden HP loss. "Stop, it's not what you think!"

Frisk glares at you. Unforgiving. "What is it, then??"

"It- I have a chronic illness and MK gave me this to stay alive." You lie quickly, holding up the hypospray so she sees it.

"Okay." She relents.

"Heal him." You demand. 

She shrugs. "I can't." Fury blazes through you. You move to inject the DT. But Frisk gasps and grabs it away from you. "That!! That's DT!!" She cries, angry with the betrayal. "This is mine!"

"No, it isn't!!" You try to grab it back but she slashes your tentacle with the dagger. Backing away, you glower at her. "Frisk, don't."

"Hehe, I can do whatever I want to, now!!" She says cheerfully and injects the DT into her arm, then drops the hypospray. Golden light crackles and bursts from her skin and eyes as she screams in ecstasy. "I should kill Papyrus for this grave mistake of yours, shouldn't I, hehehe~" She says with all the thundering power of a goddess.

You fall to your knees. "No." You choke out. " _Don't_." This is all your fault.

"Hmm." She hums. "Beg."

"Pl-please, I _beg_ you, don't kill him." You obey, bowing your head to her.

"Gaer?" She says lightly. "Kill the bonehead." You grab the Rrkhir as he moves to obey. He bites at your throat, struggling to break free from your arms. Frisk sighs. "Must I do everything myself??" A beam of light stabs down. Gaer holds you back as you shout desperately. Papyrus shatters. Your fault.

"There. That wasn't hard at all." Frisk says and you're barely aware of the pounding in your throat, the vise around your mind, you can only scream your rage and pain to her. "Oh, shut up."

Light wraps around your mouth and ties your tongue into knots, rendering you unable to make any noise. You struggle to curse her, wishing violently that Papyrus had abandoned both you and her to Skoria.

A channel blinks on the screen. Frisk sighs. "Open it."

You grumble silently but obey, hot tears burning your cheeks. At least the last time Papyrus died you were dying too, so you didn't have time to think about it.

MK shows up on the screen. The tears sting harshly and you yell and curse him for not showing up sooner, but he can't understand the mute movements of your mouth. He sees three Dai'zhe, with one inconspicuous pile of dust in the background. You slip off your glamour. Frisk does as well and grins at MK.

"Yo, Frisk, we're here to stop you!" MK says fiercely. You wail that he came too late. "Uh- why can't I hear Ryuk?"

"They're in a time-out." Frisk says happily. "I'm glad you're here, pal, I'm about to do something awesome!"

Cuina squawks in the background, "Give us Rus and Dae!!"

"Yeah, give back Ryuk and Papyrus. You can be a hero without endangering them." MK repeats.

Frisk giggles. "I still have use for Ryuk. And you're too late, Papyrus is dead, and if Gaer could reload, he'd be killed again!"

MK stares at her in shocked disbelief. You swear at him angrily. "N-no." He says. "You- you can't have-"

"That's his dust." She points. "It's Ryuk's fault. They killed him."

MK glares at you with tears welling in his eyes. You hang your head. "Yo. I'm gonna kill you, Frisk." He turns his ire on her. "How _dare_ you!!"

"My child, stop what you're doing and come home!" Toriel cries from the background. You groan and bang your head on the wall. This isn't going to work. You need a new timeline. But Frisk said Gaer can't reload. So. Who can?

Cuina. Your eyes light with hope as the pieces fall in place. Cuina must be the new Star. You need to get ker to rewind time. But you can't talk.

You sidle to the weapons console as Toriel and Bracken try to moralize at Frisk. They're going to fail to change her mind. Frisk doesn't care. And Papyrus is dead. Sorry, Cuina... A target locks onto the runabout. It explodes in the viewport and the channel is suddenly terminated. Frisk has no time to be angry with you as time rewinds.

You stagger and groan helplessly as you're in the same location, only a few minutes into the past. But Papyrus is alive, which gives you some hope. But judging from the scary look in Frisk's eyes, his life is hanging by a thread. "How dare you!!" She screams at you, gold flames blazing from her eyes. Shit. "Stop getting in my way!!"

"Stop hurting us, then!!" You snap back. "Leave him alone!"

Frisk glowers at you. The DT still runs rampant in her veins. "I'll let him live if you open a wormhole."

"Deal." You say, cold with ire. She lets go of Papyrus and shoves him away. He stumbles and falls to the floor. You pretend to ignore him, seeing he's gotten the collar off.

The channel opens again and MK shouts at Frisk, who shouts back. Gaer watches you set the wormhole coordinates in. Anger pulses out through your arteries and returns bitter with determination. Somehow you have to get Papyrus out of the room. You look around for teleportation controls. Toriel attempts to appeal to her child's sense of empathy, which you think is frankly lacking. Carefully maneuver controls so that you can teleport Papyrus out and then activate your plan right away.

Frisk laughs as MK and Toriel and Bracken try to talk her down. You know she won't listen. She's too determined. The hypospray lays on the floor. It's not completely empty. Frisk wasn't being careful. You pick it up while Gaer and Frisk are focused on the people in the runabout. Inject the last dregs into your arm, shoving the terror of what you're about to do out of your chest, filling yourself with steely fury.

Then, as euphoric pain fires in every nerve, you stagger to the consoles and set your plan in motion. Papyrus has removed his cuffs and drawn his talwar. He starts for Frisk. Gaer sees him, hissing. And then Papyrus disappears, beamed away.

Frisk stares in shock at the viewport where her prisoner materializes in the runabout. She shouts angrily at you, but you ignore her, already on the second phase, to activate an unstable wormhole and then have it deactivate as soon as the timer runs down. Gaer grabs you and you throw him off, making one last adjustment and then _bam._ Heh.

Frisk screams. Gaer tries to hold onto her. The imploding chaotic tornado in the center of the room sucks everything into itself. Ten. You stagger towards them. Frisk struggles to flee from it even as it drags her towards itself. Nine. Light bursts from her fists and she grabs Gaer and stomps towards you. You run at her. She draws your dagger and yells. Eight.

You slam into her. She's knocked off her feet. Seven. You fall into the wormhole, dragging her and Gaer with you. Six. It tears at you, chaos ripping at every atom. Gaer shrieks. Five. Frisk screams at you until her breath is torn away from her. Four. You're flung about and ripped apart by the chaotic maelstrom, unable to control your trajectory. Three.

Your body and soul battle with one another. They've always hated each other. Your soul is too wild and morphic to be satisfied being confined in a singular form. And your body is too rigid and slow to like being tied to such a rebellious soul. One of them has to yield. Your parents have tried killing and rezzing you to unlock your potential. That didn't work. It's a good thing they never learned about how unstable wormholes interact with _iifra_. Two.

Your body gives way. Your soul melds with the chaos. Brilliant orange fire consumes you. Cold comforting darkness promises to ease the agony that pulses through you. One. You're going to die. But you're not afraid. Your friends will live on. Golden light bursts in your vision. Zero.

The chaos ends. The pain ebbs. You float. Cold. Formless. Silence cradles you. Slip into the soft comfort of sleep unwillingly, knowing you'll never wake again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehhhhh, not too sure about this chapter either, but oh well, I'll leave editing it to when I revise/rewrite the whole story. 
> 
> Sorry if the climax/ending is kinda weak, I'm not too good at this yet.
> 
> I deleted the next chapter, because it was awful. Sorry guys. It’ll be back up as soon as I fix it.


	24. starlight within will guide us to the other side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OKAY. I am so sorry this is late, I really am, I was just super depressed cause of medication issues and I couldn't make words, and also yesterday crazy stuff happened, so I was super tired. I'm sorry :P thank you for waiting patiently, and I know this isn't really the best still, but I hope to change everything and make it all better when I eventually revise/rewrite it.

Magic is a weird phenomena. Nobody can really be sure how it works, even though there are many people in science, philosophy, and religion dedicated to explaining it. Regardless, it does work.

Awareness shoots through suddenly, not giving you time to adjust to the light and noise. Shrinking, you try to make sense of the overwhelming sensory input. But you're just a soul floating around. You can't move. You can't talk. Yet you're aware of the sights and sounds around you, although they're still vague and confusing.

Panic edges in, you're trapped like this, you can't even breathe to calm yourself, you're all alone, you can't- can't _breathe_ , locked in your own mind, it's an inescapable nightmare. You can't turn off the noise and lights, even as they start to make sense. Yet fire burns deep within.Reach inside. It explodes outwards as you touch it, amorphous and wild, and you struggle to control it.

It's a dream and you're lucid. Your arms hug your chest, legs curling under you, fluffy hair falling over your eyes as you close them and cover your ears. You never thought you'd be so glad to be in your boring old body again. Except- _skin_ , it pisses you off, but the fire burns it away and leaves shiny overlapping scales behind. You blink, uncurling to admire and pet the pretty surface, the weight of what you just did not really sinking in yet.

You look up at the group of yelling people and grin, flopping your hair back away from your face. Toriel, Bracken and MK rage at Frisk and Gaer, _damn_ it, they're still alive. Your grin starts to droop bitterly, and then you see Papyrus staring at you with literal stars in his sockets. You grin brightly at him before being knocked over by Cuina, who immediately snuggles on top of you, warbling happily. Papyrus offers a hand and helps you sit up again despite Cuina's warning purr and subsequent attempts to peck him. You pat kis head. "I'm okay." You tell ker.

"You disappeared!!" Ke retorts, nipping you with kis beak. "That was white!! Fuck!!"

You sigh and lean back against the wall as Cuina snuggles in your lap and Papyrus sits down beside you. "Sorry."

"I had a very good plan I was about to enact!" Papyrus says, trying to be stern, but his joyful relief is evident. He cuffs you, his rough proof of affection. "But no, you had to do the fucking obviously stupid thing and create an- an unstable wormhole!" He sniffles, his sockets shining wetly. "You bastard, you could have died!!

"Aww, cactus-butt, don't cry, I'm- shit, I'm _better_ than okay, did you see what I can do??" You cry happily, suddenly realizing it yourself.

He tries to scowl at you, but gives up and the stars come back. "I did!!" He takes your arm and runs his fingers along your scales. "Wowie, did the wormhole give you magic?"

It tore apart your body. It freed your soul. But you still have no magic. That- that's okay. You're delighted that you aren't confined to one form now. You feel ready to cry, but you smile and laugh instead. "No, but I'm Aggelos!" You boast. Morphing is the birthright you've been denied for so long. Fire bursts from your back to prove it, forming scaly spikes. "We _are_ magic!"

He scowls again, this time not dropping it even for your pout. "You still almost died!!"

"But-" You start. He cuts you off abruptly, pressing his smooth teeth against your lips. Your soul pounds all through your body, viscous sunlight effusing you. He withdraws, then viciously swipes at his wet cheekbones.

"No!! As punishment for this idiocy of yours, you will be put in a proper post!!" He snaps after erasing all signs of tears. Your ecstasy fades. Great, more responsibility.

"C'mon, Papyrus, it wasn't that bad," You plead. "Please don't do this to me!"

He smirks. "Nyeh heh, should I be harsher??"

Tired, you groan, hiding a smile. "No, fuck you _very_ much, bitch."

He wraps you in a tight hug, ignoring the spikes. "Don't _ever_ do anything that dangerous again!" He scolds. "I'm making you the _Liltha'_ s officer of morale. As such, you'd better not die, or morale will drop and I'll have to drag you kicking and screaming from the afterlife to fix it!!"

"Shit, how horrid." You intone wearily, hiding your face in his scarf. Papyrus pinches you. "What??"

"Stay awake!" He orders mercilessly. "Until MK can run scans on you to make sure you're alright."

"I'm fine, Rus. Really, chill. Go kill Frisk or something." You mean it mostly seriously.

He pinches you again, scowling. "I will let Sans decide Frisk's punishment. I don't dirty my hands on mosquitoes."

* * *

When the runabout arrives back at the ship, Papyrus insists on carrying Ryuk to sickbay. MK and Cuina trail after them. Toriel and Bracken will drag Frisk and Gaer to the brig. N'kha and Alphys will return to work. "After you're all better, you and Sans will have to make an actual wormhole!!" Papyrus says. Ryuk grumbles incoherently, so he pinches their arm.

"Yes, sir." They correct themself, probably still upset over the promotion. "Cactus-butt," They add, and Papyrus decides he wasn't harsh enough.

"Would you rather I make you walk??"

"Yes." They reply without hesitation, blepping at him.

"Well- well, too bad!!" He tightens his grip on them so they can't squirm out. "Because you're still weak from almost dying!"

He leaves them in sickbay with MK and then reports to the bridge, Cuina riding along on his shoulders.

His officers salute, perceivably relieved at his safe return. Papyrus snaps a salute back proudly. "Get my lazybones brother, he's probably canoodling with Asgore." He orders. Cuina squawks in agreement.

"bro, i'm hurt." Sans says behind him. "i haven't slept a wink since you were kidnapped."

Papyrus spins and retorts, "It's about time you stopped being so sluggish!!"

Sans just grins, flopping into Papyrus's arms for a hug, which Papyrus grants. "you okay, bro?"

"I'm wonderful, as always." He scowls. "As soon as Ryuk is recovered, they will assist you with the creation of a wormhole back home!"

"sure thing, bro." Sans snaps a lazy salute.

"Oh, and do your judgement thing _before_ we get back, I don't want Frisk resetting as soon as we're in the Milky Way." Papyrus adds as an afterthought.

Sans shrugs. "i wasn't planning on waiting this time."

* * *

MK grins wickedly, steepling his fingers as Ryuk glares at him. It's hard to take them seriously with Cuina sleeping on their head, though. "Muahaha, how unlucky for you to be left in my power, yo! You never came for your physical, after all."

They shudder and snap tersely, "Make it quick."

MK takes out a laser-scalpel and cleans it carefully before flicking it on, watching their glare shift to horror. "Should I start with your tongue?"

"Shit, MK, stop- stop messing around!" They squeak, but are careful to not wake Cuina. "We both know you're not- not gonna use that so- so just put it away already!"

MK laughs at them and puts the scalpel away. "Yo, but you deserved that for scaring us with that wormhole!"

"Sh-shut up, what were you trying to do, _talk_ her to death??" They snap.

MK splutters. "Uh, yo, we were trying to resolve the tensions _peacefully_ , while you just went ' _fuck it, imma suicidally murder this bitch'_." Ryuk grumbles under their breath in response.

MK puts them through the rigmarole of their physical. Not a single life-sign shows up, which he expected since they lost their body. Aggelos life-signs don't show up on any scans. He takes their scaly wrist in one hand, feeling their soul pulse through their body. "Feels strong, I'd say you're good, but the Admiral will probably want you to rest for a bit."

Ryuk doesn't have to be told twice, which is a rarity, as they lift Cuina off their head gently, plop ker onto their lap and curl up to go to sleep. MK goes into the office to do paperwork, leaving them under the supervision of his nurses.

"Mil-Gwedh." Luon's stern voice makes MK yelp as his boyfriend closes the office door behind him. "You have some explaining to do."

"U-uh, yo, I'm sorry for running off without telling you, but I thought if I told you, you'd stop us." MK apologizes.

Luon sighs. "You are correct, I wanted the entire fleet to go after Frisk. You could have been killed by the Dai'zhe."

"But we weren't!" MK says. "We saved Papyrus and Ryuk!"

"You got lucky. Don't do it again." Luon says, then smiles gently. "But, my captain duties aside, I am glad you succeeded safely."

MK grins back and the two share a few kisses before MK has to do his paperwork and Luon has to leave.

* * *

Sans shortcuts down to the brig. Toriel waits there, with Frisk snarling at her behind the forcefield. "heya." He waves.

Toriel looks up at him with great sad eyes. "Sans. We will accept any punishment you see fit."

"woah, woah, tori, you're not a part of this. my beef's with the kid here." Sans starts to get an uncomfortable feeling.

Toriel growls. "Whatever you do to Frisk, you will have to do to me."

Frisk stares at Toriel. "M-mom-"

"okay." Sans says and takes a moment to compose himself and alter the punishment he had planned. "take a runabout, take gaer, take whoever wants to go with you, just leave. you're not allowed to go back to the milky way with us." He stops, hurting for Toriel. "tori, you don't have to-"

"I do, Sans." She snaps. "She's my child."

Frisk starts to cry. "Mom, you shouldn't-"

"I was never there for you when you needed me." Toriel says gently. "I never listened to your pain. Allow me the chance to change that."

"alright," Sans says with a heavy soul. "that's all. take whichever runabout you want. i think the eru would be open to taking on crew, specially since gaer here can translate for ya."

"Thank you, Sans." Toriel says, her eyes watery, but she doesn't cry. "We will be fine."

"y-yeah. i know." He shortcuts away before his resolve breaks.

* * *

Papyrus sends Sans and Ryuk out with a team of bodyguards to create a wormhole. Ensign Esther stands behind him, waiting to talk. "Yes?"

"Sir, permission to remain with Toriel." She says.

"Granted." He says reluctantly. "Take whatever supplies you need."

"Five of the Ivren also wish to go with us." She tells him.

"Very well." Papyrus frowns, sad to lose his sweet officer and the quirky birds. "But first you must give me a hug."

She smiles with shiny eyes and complies, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, sir."

"Of course." He says gruffly. "We should have a farewell dinner, too. Get your friends together, I will even open a few bottles of my wine."

"Yes, sir, thank you, sir." She says, a tear slipping down her cheek.

The dinner happens a half-hour later. Toriel refuses to come, preferring to stay with Frisk, so it's made up of Esther, the Ivren, and her friends in the crew. The farewell weighs on everyone, but the mood is lightened by jokes and stories. Papyrus remains for only a short time before returning to the bridge to check on Sans and Ryuk's status. The wormhole is almost ready.

Toriel chooses a large Klingon runabout, Esther compiles supplies, and the exilees say their last farewells before boarding and flying away in the direction of the Eru. Papyrus hears about it from Dexi, who watches the departure.

The wormhole opens up a few hours later.

* * *

The fleet sends a couple drones through first, then, having ascertained that it leads to the Milky Way and not into the void between galaxies or into the center of a planet, they go through it one ship at a time. The _Liltha_ waits for Sans and Ryuk to return.

After the two do, the _Liltha_ goes through last of all. Nobody had been able to appreciate the brilliant flashing chaos the first time. Now everyone sees it.

The wormhole spits the fleet out by Bajor. Papyrus stares at the familiar planet with joy in his soul, hugging Sans. There's a lot of work to be done. The united Gil-Mista won't be allowed to remain so by the Federation and Alliance. But for now, he's glad to be home, he's glad to be here with his brother and his friends and Ryuk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be an epilogue and (possibly) a bonus smut chapter. They'll come whenever I feel up to writing them, lol, which could be soon or could be later. 
> 
> Sorry about the quality, I know this story is pretty terribly put together. If any of you have any suggestions for what I could do better when I edit it, I would love to hear them. I already know of quite a few things that I need to change, but I'm sure I missed something, lol. Thank you all so much for sticking with me, especially DreamSoftly, Mikrebyle, and Smiles SK. The fact that I could often depend on getting a comment from at least one of you per chapter made it easier for me to stay excited about this project, and your input was helpful and always made my day.
> 
> (For those of you who know of my work called "Don't Shoot The Albatross" that I gave up on, I'm trying to rewrite it now. No promises, and it might be a few months but yeah, I'm going to use what I learned with this project and hopefully be able to finish that one.)


	25. Uninstall Uninstall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fluff. literally. all fluff. maybe a bit of exposition in the middle, but mostly fluff, and i swear i'm not lying this time ;p

Bracken stares into the viewport, one hand on the cold metal. He remembers what it was like to be soulless. He tries to reach for that feeling of no feeling, of void, again. The soul shards won't let him. Damn Frisk. His face crinkles in an attempt to be angry. He's angry, yes, he's so angry that Frisk fucked him over after saying she loved him, after saying he was her family. His eyes sting.

Nobody bothered to tell him she would be left behind. Hahaha, no, he wouldn't have _stayed_ with her, no, why would he- why would he want to do a dumb- such a dumb idiotic thing like that?? _Maybe_ he would have stayed with her. If someone had cared enough to _tell him_. Damn Sans. Damn Toriel. Toriel thinks he's a bad influence. But he's the only one who truly understands her.

He stares out at the wormhole. It's been open for two hours now, and everyone expects it to close at any minute, everyone's been ignoring it, too caught up in celebrations. _But what if_ \- He's barely aware of his feet carrying him down to the ship bay, to the runabouts. It's not fair. Frisk won't escape him this easily. _Fuck her_ if she thinks she can just abandon him.

He takes a runabout, thinks for a minute, then decides to steal some supplies from the cargo bay too. He's in the middle of getting some blankets when he becomes aware of someone watching him. He looks up. Two Ivren stare down at him from the steel girders. Wait. Didn't all the Ivren except one go with Frisk??

The two leap down, wheeling through the air to land gently on the crates. One of them spontaneously combusts into flames- this is a bad dream, right?? But the flames reform into a form that vaguely looks like that bastard Ryuk, except they're scaly and have spikes down their back. Bracken growls at them.

"Heya." They wave jauntily, looking smug. "Want help?"

"Sure." Bracken grunts and hands the pile of blankets to them. They produce a bottle from a crate and bury it in the blankets. Bracken licks his lips. "What's that?"

"Shh. Don't tell Rus." They wink. "It's some of his wine. Thought you might need it."

Bracken nods. "Yeah, thanks, idiot." He starts back to the runabout with the supplies he gathered. Ryuk and the Ivren follow him. He shoos them out when the runabout is stocked. "Get out, unless you wanna go back to Andromeda."

Ryuk shuffles their feet. "Uh. Good luck."

Bracken decides to have some fun at their expense, one last time. "Papyrus likes topping, by the way, and he's great at edgeplay and bondage." He suppresses a smirk at their pointy ears flattening with mortification. "Also powerplay, and he'll only let you dom him if he really trusts you." A knot wells in Bracken's throat, remembering fun times with his arrogant friend. "He can take care of himself, but you better not harm him, idiot."

They shake their head, eyes wide. "N-no, I won't."

Bracken nods sharply. "See ya, moron." They exit the runabout with the Ivren and he sits down at the helm.

He flies out of the ship and towards the wormhole. It doesn't close. He enters it and the kaleidoscope of chaos nearly makes him vomit, but he gets through. Frisk's runabout flies through a nearby asteroid field, close enough to open a channel to. "Bitch," He growls, forcing the words past his choked-up throat.

Frisk stares at him through the camera. Her eyes well with tears. Behind him, the wormhole vanishes.

* * *

"hey, Ryuk, kiddo, i need your help." Sans grins wickedly as he peeks into their broom closet. "whaddya say to helping me prank people?"

"SANS, GET BACK TO WORK." Papyrus booms at him and Sans yelps, staggering back, and then feels his face flush with heat as the imposter posing as his brother breaks down laughing and morphs back to their favored form. "I got you!" Ryuk crows. "I totally got you!"

"you're gonna pay for that, kiddo." Sans growls, but can't help but be ruefully amused. "that was a dirty trick. ya should't be allowed to pose as other people."

They pout. "But it's so much fun to see their reactions!"

Sans's grin widens as he comes up with a perfect idea to get back at them. "okay, kid, here's what we're gonna do." He makes up a fake prank for them to enact.

* * *

Papyrus paces in the war room, frustrated. The Federation and Alliance both want their ships and crews back. As soon as they go back, though, they'll be cogs in the machine again, fighting for a worthless cause, unpaid, exhausted, sent like dogs to tear apart the enemy for an apathetic master. There has to be some way to avoid this.

He gets a call on the earpiece taped to his skull. * _Sir,_ * It's Dexi. * _Ryuk is posing as you._ * Papyrus grumbles under his breath, can't he get a break?? He's _busy_ , they should _know_ that.

"What are they doing??"

* _They- uh. They just ordered a fleet-wide festival_.*

Papyrus sighs. "Fine. Let it go, Dexi, just play along. I'll deal with them later." He'll let the fleet have some fun together before the two major factions tear it apart again.

Mutiny crosses his mind once more. Bajor is a neutral planet. If he can hide out in their region of space, neither the Federation or the Alliance can get to his fleet- until, that is, Bajor picks a side.

So what if he makes his own side??

Papyrus grins fiercely and stomps onto the bridge. Ryuk, in his form, holds character admirably well, scowling and saying, "Who the fuck are you?? Se'Vir, get that imposter!!" He strides up to them and grabs them by the scarf that Sans must have stolen from his quarters. "U-uh-" They break character as he looms and they shrink. "It was Sans's idea!"

"POSING AS A SUPERIOR OFFICER IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENSE." Papyrus notes, hiding his smile, and they bashfully morph back to their scaly form, their pointy ears flat in their fluffy hair.

"W-well, I was raising morale!" Ryuk claims, grasping at straws.

He glowers back. "You are not allowed to take the form of any existing person except at my orders. Next time you do, I will put you in the brig."

"Yes, sir." They reply. Papyrus bumps his jaws on their forehead in an affectionate kiss and their ears perk up.

His cheekbones flush suddenly with heat as he realizes his officers are watching. "WH-WHAT??" He cries, mortified. "THERE'S A FESTIVAL, ISN'T THERE?? GO ENJOY IT AND THEN I WILL MAKE MY ANNOUNCEMENT!!" He strategically retreats back into the war room to contact the Bajoran government.

This plan will take a long time. It'll be hard. But it's a chance. It's a hope. The Bajorans agree to consider it, and the offer for their scientists to reverse-engineer the tech brought from Andromeda certainly doesn't hurt his case.

He emerges again a few hours later, his bones rattling with excitement. Ryuk is on the bridge again, being scolded by Dexi and Se'Vir, probably for another prank. They grin bashfully and wave to him. He scowls back. "What did you do this time??"

The scales on their cheeks darken. "U-uh- Nothing?" They're not lying, they just seem unsure. Dexi and Se'Vir don't supply any information, as both find other things that they suddenly need to do.

"Oh. Very well." He says, letting it go, as he has more important things to worry about. "Dexi, open a comlink through the entire fleet."

* * *

Undyne was just getting bummed out about having to give up her post as captain of the _Heryn_ , when a comlink opens and Papyrus's voice booms through. She listens with growing excitement to the plan. "Fuck yeah, count me in!" She cries through the channel. Her officers cheer around her. "Anybody who doesn't want to join me can get off right now!!" Nobody leaves. Alphys grabs her hand and Undyne whoops before pulling her wife into a victory smooch.

Alphys chokes and splutters, turning red. "Un-Undyne, I have to- to tell you something." She mumbles, breaking away from the kiss.

"What, babe??" Nothing can dampen Undyne's spirits right now.

Alphys looks at her. Then looks down. "N-nothing. Nevermind."

* * *

Sans grins at Asgore. "whaddya say, fuzzball? wanna stay with me and be a space pirate?"

Asgore frowns. "I have a nation to run. I have been away for too long."

Sans deflates. "oh. i, uh, don't suppose they'd consider joining, would they? there's a star not too far away from bajor with a nice m class planet."

Asgore sighs and shakes his head. "The Federation has given us too much. Until we repay our debts, we are not free to choose."

"welp. i guess it's goodbye, then." Sans says lightly, hiding his disappointment. "don't be a stranger."

"Not goodbye, Sans." Asgore plants a kiss on Sans's jaws. " _Until we meet again._ "

"one last dance, fuzzball?" Sans offers. Asgore takes his hand and the lead.

* * *

The Bajoran government eventually agrees to recognize the Gil-Mista as a separate organization from the Federation or Alliance. Papyrus allows anyone to go who wants to return to their respective factions. Three ships and around four-thousand crew members leave the Gil-Mista. The rest remain.

The Federation refuses to recognize the Gil-Mista and demands their ships returned and the officers sent in to be court-martialed. Bajor, armed with the new Andromeda technology, takes the Gil-Mista under its protection, giving to the crews citizenship and to the fleet the job of intergalactic exploration and defense.

The Alliance also recognizes the Gil-Mista and starts trying to open trade with the fleet in order to get access to the new technology. Because the fleet is under Bajoran protection, all trade requests for them go through Bajor's government first, and Bajor doesn't particularly like Cardassia or Romulus, but relations gradually become better as Cardassia strategically trades an area of disputed space where Bajoran colonies have set up a long time ago in return for being allowed to reverse-engineer the Andromeda tech.

Ferenginar, either surprisingly or unsurprisingly enough and Papyrus can't decide which it is, decides to leave the Federation and ally with Bajor and the Gil-Mista, sensing the benefits outweigh whatever the Federation offers to make them stay. The Federation ignores their absence, pretending the loss of their economic advisors doesn't matter. Several Klingon clans join as well and send their fleets to sign up as Intergalactic Explorers, wanting the glory and thrill. The Kzinti, a race always torn between the Alliance and Federation, bands together and joins the new organization as well. The Intergalactic Alliance is born.

Papyrus Eleos can no longer be called a mere Admiral. The Bajoran position of Minister is granted to him, along with the role of President over the IA. He leaves the Gil-Mista fleet in the hands of K'talla and Luon. Sans works as his secretary.

But even a President and Minister needs a vacation eventually.

* * *

Undyne plops on the warm green grass, dragging her wife down with her. Alphys has been inexplicably agitated and irritable lately. "Fuhuhu, camping is awesome!!" She laughs.

"I g-got bugs in my dress." Alphys grumbles.

MK hops up onto the grassy cliff beside her, dragging Luon behind him. "Yo!" He cries. "Is this like a secret couples' tryst??"

"Fuck off, punk!!" Undyne replies happily and snuggles Alphys. Alphys elbows her sharply in the stomach. "OW, fuck, Al, what the hell's eating you??"

"N-nothing!!" Alphys snaps back and stomps away to sulk.

Undyne shrugs. Her wife is so passionate about everything she does, so it could be anything that's making her upset. Maybe one of her projects isn't working out.

MK and Luon move on, taking the lead. Undyne relaxes into the grass, listening to the bugs. It's nice to just be peaceful for a bit. Papyrus plops down next to her, his bones rattling like a cat's purr. And then Sans. Undyne groans. "Shit, I was having a moment, and then you two boneheads ruined it!"

Above her, two birds wheel and dip down. One lands, consumed by fire before reforming into Ryuk's second-favorite form, a scaly vulcanoid, and they hold out their arm for the other bird to perch on. Cuina squawks happily and nibbles their nose as they giggle. "Heya." They say to Undyne.

She growls at them. "Ngah, can't I get any silence around here??"

They shrug, then grin wickedly. "I mean, you could, if you hid in acave for millenia- oh wait."

Undyne leaps up and chases them, "NGAAAHHH!! Get back here, punk, face your punishment!!"

"Rus, help me!!" They squeal as she catches them. Papyrus looks up and yawns.

"Too soon." He replies sternly, handing the deliverance of justice over to Undyne.

Grinning ferociously, she forms a spear and hands it to them. "Defend yourself, punk!!"

"Sans??" They beg. "You wouldn't let me die, would you??"

Sans doesn't even open his eyes, lazily responding with a shrug and, "nah."

"FUHUHU! Oh, I'm not going to _kill_ you, squirt!! Only teach you a little lesson!!" Undyne laughs cheerfully. "Now fight me!!"

* * *

Everyone sets up their tents in a small glade at night, and a pleasant fire crackles in the center of the camp. You mutter incoherently, still sore and aching in multiple places from the curb-stomp 'spar' with Undyne. Papyrus sits on the log next to you and offers a hand, smirking. "So, who won?"

"Fuck you." You grumble. "Who do you think??"

"I was going to offer to heal you, but if you're going to be a brat about it, I'll just let you suffer." He says, still with that cruel kissable smirk on his jaws.

You grab his scarf and remove his evil look with a smooch. His cheekbones turn red, so you pepper them with kisses as well. "Heal me." You demand petulantly.

"Brat." He murmurs, nipping your nose, but green fire glows on his gloved hands and burns into your soul as he caresses your bruises, restoring your HP and erasing the pain.

You wrap your arms around him and nuzzle your nose into his scarf, enjoying the scent of mangos. "You're amazing, cactus-butt." You tell him, just to fluster him. It works, as he splutters, not sure how to respond to the mixed compliment and insult.

"GET A FUCKING ROOM, ALREADY!!" Undyne shrieks. Your ears flatten with mortification as your soul heats.

"N-NO, THANK YOU, UNDYNE, WE'RE FINE RIGHT HERE!!" Papyrus says, flustering and making it worse.

"Hey, you and Alphys didn't _get a room_!" You snap back, pretending innocence. "You two canoodle all the time!! Besides, we're in the forest!!"

"Y-YEAH! THERE ARE NO ROOMS!!" Papyrus agrees, either actually innocent or also pretending with you.

Undyne grumbles. "I _mean_ -" Then she stops. "Wait. _Goddammit_."

Sans pops up next to her suddenly, glaring with dark sockets. "don't you dare."

"I mean, he had to have done it with Mettaton! He's old enough! They both are!" Undyne yelps.

"Old enough for what??" You ask innocently, twisting the knife deeper. Undyne groans and hides her face in her hands. You struggle to hide your smirk.

"YEAH, UNDYNE, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??" Papyrus asks, equally innocent.

Undyne splutters, "W-well, you see, NGAAAHHH, SHUT UP, I CAN'T!!"

"Can't what??" You smirk.

"YEAH, WHY CAN'T YOU TELL US??"

"It's only sex, after all." You let your smirk out.

Sans stares at you, sockets black with shock. Undyne chokes on her mortification. Papyrus bursts out laughing. "NYEH HEH HEH, WE GOT YOU!!" He crows. "YOU HAVE BEEN JAPED!! OF COURSE WE BOTH KNOW ABOUT THE SEX THING!!"

Alphys stomps up and plops down, crossing her arms grumpily. "Then do it, already." She snaps. "Why the fuck d-do you two have separate tents??"

Just like that, the tables are turned and it's you and Papyrus's turn to be embarrassed. "U-uh-"

"N-NO REASON! W-WE JUST- AREN'T READY!"

"Y-yeah!" You say. "We don't have to be screwing as often as you two to show we love each other!"

Papyrus lets out a yelp and leaps up, backflipping into the forest. Undyne laughs raucously, "FUHUHU, punk, there's no windows in the forest!!"

"What did I say??" You wonder, offended.

Alphys smirks. "H-have you told him you love him yet??"

Your soul flushes with heat. "U-uh. Dunno. Have you told Un-" Alphys stops you with a powerful electric shock, making you yelp. "H-hey, that _hurt_!"

"Sh-shut up." She snaps angrily. You glare at her and stand up, stomping into the forest to find Papyrus. Pregnancy has not done favors for her personality, and it's almost time for her to give birth, so she's extra cranky. On top of that, Undyne still doesn't know. Somehow.

You find Papyrus slashing at trees with his talwar. You stay back in the shadows, watching him. Is he really upset that you used the word _love_ so casually? Does he not love you?

"O-oh!" He yelps, noticing you. "Ryuk! I- uh."

You step out of hiding and hug him. "It's okay if you can't say it back, but I do love you." You tell him.

"I- I LO-LOVE YOU TOO!" He replies, his entire skull dark red.

"Uh, and we won't do the sex thing until you're ready." You say, trying to be mature and not embarassed about it.

"Y-YEAH. N-NOT YET." He says, then kisses you. "We should go back before they suspect us."

"Yeah." You agree. Neither moves to leave, continuing to pepper the other with kisses.

* * *

Alphys groans in her tent beside Undyne. Her soul swells with agony as the baby pulls on the string of iifra connecting her to them. She rolls to her feet and staggers as quietly as she can out of the tent. Ryuk. She needs to get Ryuk and make them help her give birth. Papyrus would just betray her to Undyne, and Sans would be no help at all. MK would- would probably be the smartest option, but again, he might betray her.

She looks in Ryuk's tent, and sees them sleeping peacefully curled up with Cuina. "Ryuk!" She hisses.

They wake up and extricate themself. "Are they ready?" They whisper excitedly. "What are you going to tell Undyne??"

"Th-that I found them in the woods." Alphys says and drags Ryuk into the forest. "D-don't freak out, okay? Get me some water and a blanket."

Ryuk stammers, "Why- why didn't you get those??"

"Just do it!" Alphys snaps at them and they salute quickly and run to obey. She sits on a log and groans as the pain pulses stronger. Dropping her clothes off, she stretches her arms in a vain attempt to ease the agony. If she'd known childbirth was this bad, she- probably still would have done it. Ryuk returns and Alphys lays naked on the blanket. They stand there awkwardly with the water. Alphys snaps at them, "Stop gaping like a moron and put the water beside me!"

They obey, placing the water on the blanket. Alphys directs them to get particular herbs. When they come back with the desired plants, she tears the leaves and flowers of the herbs and puts them in the water, stirring it and injecting iifra into it.

"Essence." She mutters, and slices her wrist over the bowl, letting iifra drip into it. Ryuk looks ready to vomit. It does look like white blood, so she's slightly sympathetic, but goddammit, she's the one in pain, she should be the one about to vomit! "Cut your wrist." She orders, offering the knife, and they choke. "I need more _iifra_. Do it."

They hold their wrist out to her over the bowl and close their eyes. She slashes a bit deeper than necessary and they yelp, but she grabs their hand to stop them from flinching back. Orange and gold iifra dribbles out from the wound. The bowl glows with the magic. She heals their cut and releases them.

"Turn around." She tells them and they do so. Alphys focuses herself and her soul manifests before her chest, the child soul draining her with their connection. She takes the knife in one hand and the bowl in the other, placing the bowl underneath the child soul. And then she slices through the connection, severing it.

The child soul lashes out just before their cord is completely cut and she bites her tongue to keep from screaming. They fall into the bowl, glowing like a star. Her soul returns to her body. They glow brighter and brighter. She stares into them, trying to read them. "Y-you can look now." She says distractedly to Ryuk and they come beside her, cooing in awe at her amazing little life that she created.

"Wh-what do you think, Ryuk?" Alphys asks, giddy. " _Aldine_?"

"Too on-the-nose." They shoot that idea down. "What about _Ross_?"

"Dew." She hums. "Th-that works. Li-little Ross."

Ross glows, sucking up the extra iifra from the potion along with the physical matter of the herbs and the water. And then Ross is fully formed and the bowl is empty and dry. Alphys stares at them. "Sh-shit."

Her little child is a mer like Undyne. They have poofy black hair with a fiery red streak running across one side, and they are a dark bluish-grey with tiger-like stripes of gold. They giggle up at her. Ryuk stares at them in amazement. "Wowie." They murmur, their hand reaching out absently to hold Ross's little grabbing hand.

Alphys grabs Ross up before Ryuk can touch them. "Mine." She snarls protectively and Ryuk flinches back.

"Sorry." They mumble. "But I helped. Anyway, how are you gonna explain them to Undyne now??" Then they wince, realizing something. "Oh shit, she's going to kill me!"

"She'll kill both of us if we don't think of something!" Alphys snaps back and Ross starts to wail. "Shh, shh." Alphys produces a cinnabunny from her inventory and hands it to Ross, who happily coos and nibbles it.

Ryuk hides their head in their hands. "I'm out. I'm hiding. Don't tell Undyne I had anything to do with this!" They're freaking out. Alphys slaps them.

"I will if you don't help me!" She says. They wince, hands going to rub their throat.

"U-uh, tell her you accidentally forgot your meds!" They suggest.

"I can't, she'll ask why I didn't tell her sooner!"

"You cheated on her with another mer?"

"No, you moron, she'll be even more mad!!"

"The truth??"

"NO!!" Alphys shrieks.

Ryuk sags. "We are so dead. So very very dead." Cuina hops onto Ryuk's shoulder and they shriek, startled. "Cuina! You scared the hell out of me!!"

"Baby!" Cuina warbles softly. "I found baby in river! And took baby back to you!"

"B-but they look like Undyne!"

"Cawdas." Cuina coos. "They look like Cawdas."

They are on an ex-Cardassian moon, one of the grants Cardassia gave to Bajor. Alphys perks up. Cuina is right. Ross does kind of look like a Cardassian.

Ryuk kisses Cuina's beak. "You are a purple life-saver, Cuina!!" They cry.

Alphys wraps Ross in the blanket. "Y-yes, that's what we'll tell them."

She trudges back to camp with Ross in her arms and Ryuk beside her with Cuina on their head. Hope and love wells in her tired soul.

In the morning, when everyone wakes up, they find Alphys and Ryuk and Cuina tending to the baby. Undyne peers over Alphys's shoulder and gasps. "BABY!!" She squeals. "OMIGOSH, ALPHYS, IS THAT OUR BABY?? WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THEY WERE GONNA BE BORN LAST NIGHT!!"

Alphys stares at her, frozen. "U-uh. I d-d-don't kn-know what y-you mean?"

Undyne glares at her. "Al, honey, did you really think I wouldn't notice you were pregnant??"

"Actually, she didn't." Papyrus helpfully supplies. "I told her." Undyne tries to slap him.

"S-sorry," Ryuk gulps.

Undyne turns her glare on them. "You knew and you didn't fucking tell me?? Squirt, you're not getting out of training for AT _LEAST_ three months, fuhuhu!!" One of Ryuk's hands rubs absently at their throat as they look absolutely terrified by the prospect. "AND YOU!!" Undyne turns back to Alphys. "I dunno what your punishment is gonna be, yet. BUT IT'S GONNA BE A GOOD ONE, FUHUHU!! And by good, I mean _terrible_." She grins ferociously, sending a throb of heat to Alphys's soul.

"D-do you want to hold them?" Alphys offers Ross to her wife.

MK comes up, scowling, "Yo, I could have helped you give birth! Why didn't you wake me!"

"Yeah, Al, why didn't you get the expert??" Undyne demands, cradling Ross in her arms gently.

Alphys blushes in shame. "I- I knew Ryuk would lie for me." Ryuk yelps and hides their face as both Papyrus and Undyne scowl at them. 

"What the fuck were you planning to tell us??" Papyrus cuffs them.

"We were going to say they were an abandoned Cardassian baby." They mumble.

Undyne laughs at that. "You really thought we'd buy that??"

Papyrus lifts Ryuk by the nape of their neck. "Okay, you lied to us, now you have to tell us a truth." He says sternly.

"U-uh. Sans and I were going to prank you today with toads..." They admit bashfully.

Undyne laughs. "Fuhuhu, you have to do it too, Alphys!"

"O-okay." Alphys says, lightness in her soul that it hasn't gone nearly as bad as she thought it would. "We named them Ross."

Undyne shrieks, "YOU FUCKING NAMED THEM WITHOUT ME?? YOU'RE SO DEAD, BITCH!!" Alphys yelps and runs, hiding in the forest from her furious wife. Undyne doesn't follow, still holding Ross. "YOU'LL STAY OUT OF MY SIGHT FOR A WHOLE DAY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE BOILED SLOWLY!!" Undyne shouts and Alphys shivers, hiding deeper in the forest.

* * *

Later that week, after the anger over the baby has died down mostly, the group visits a mixed colony of Cardassians and Bajorans. The colonists show hospitality and take them in, even letting them join the festivities going on.

Sans hangs out with Ryuk, playing little pranks on random people and laughing at the reactions. Ryuk has gotten pretty nifty with their morphing, so Sans utilizes that at every opportunity. He's still not sure how they got the ability, and Papyrus has been silent about the matter, not volunteering any information.

"hey, kiddo." His curiosity eats him up. "how'd you get to do that?" He gestures to the bone-wings blooming from their shoulder-blades.

They grin. "I made a wormhole and died."

He stares at them blankly. "what."

So they sit him down and tell him the whole story. He pats them on the back when they finish. "good job, kid, i'm proud of you." Now he has to think of some way to reward them for saving his brother.

The group is invited to a classy dinner on a later night, the last night they'll be staying there. Papyrus groans but allows everyone to buy one new outfit each to wear to it. Sans dresses up in a tunic, the most efficient piece of clothing he can find. Papyrus scorns the efficiency, naming it lazy, and gets a lovely crop top with pants and an elegant fur cape. "you look great, bro." Sans tells him.

"Of course I do, Sans." Papyrus replies.

"Wow, beautiful!" Ryuk says upon seeing him and Papyrus's cheekbones turn a brilliant shade of red.

"OF- OF COURSE!!" He squeaks. "S-SO ARE YOU!"

Sans chuckles to himself and shortcuts away to look at the other shops. Pretty jewelry sparkles from the ceilings. One stall catches his eyes. Old divination and mage gear. There are staves, wands, focuses, crystals- cards. He remembers their pain and fury, the way they spoke of losing their only connection to magic.

Sans shrugs and picks the deck up, flipping through it. Sixty-nine cards- heh. Papyrus would call him immature for the mental image popping up in response to the number. They're not like any playing cards he's ever seen, save Ryuk's deck.

"what are these?" He asks the shopkeeper.

"Usually used for Cardassian Strip Poker." The shopkeeper replies with a straight face, then says as though it's a secret, "Not many know that they can actually be used for divination or incantations."

"how much?"

At the dinner, Sans steals the seat beside Papyrus, chuckling as Ryuk growls at him because they're now blocked from sitting by their datemate. "aw, you like sitting by me, kid." He teases them. "Paps would just cuff you for chewing too loudly."

"I have gotten better about that!" Papyrus responds indignantly.

Ryuk crosses their arms and plops on the seat beside Sans. "Sorry, cactus-butt, your brother here, slug-butt, refuses to allow us within a foot of each other."

Sans chokes. "slug-butt?? that really what you think of me, kiddo??"

They giggle. "Nah, you're more of a fish-butt. You're slimy and you stink. You need a bath."

Sans gasps in offense and retorts, "then you're a lion-butt, cause _y'know_ , you're always _a lion_."

They laugh at that. The host enters and frowns at the loud noise and they snap their jaws shut with an audible clack. Oh yeah, they took the form of a skeleton Fae this evening for some reason. Probably to impress Papyrus. From the way Papyrus keeps glancing at them with pink dusting his cheekbones, it's working.

The dinner is boring, since Papyrus refused to allow any pranks during it. Sans is glad when it's finally over and he can grab Ryuk and shortcut them to the roof.

They stare out at the city around them, delight in their eyes. "Wow, cool view!"

"hey, kid." He says to get their attention. "Ryuk. you're gonna take care of my bro, right?"

"Yes, Sans." They say, grinning at him. "I will."

"then here." He hands them the deck of cards. "these might help."

They stare at the proffered gift, sockets wide and welling with clear liquid. "R-really?" They ask softly, disbelieving.

"yeah, kiddo." He grins at them. "you saved my bro and died in the process. you more than earned this." They throw their arms around him, hugging him tightly.

He pats their back as they sob, "Th- _thank you_!!"

"sure, kid." He says. "don't lose 'em, now. they were pretty expensive. i'd ask how you got ahold of your old ones in the first place, but i have a feeling i don't want to know."

They laugh, sniffling, and they shuffle through the cards expertly. "Yeah, probably not."

"okay, let's go back. it's kinda chilly up here." Sans says and offers his hand. They take it, slipping their deck into their jacket. Sans shortcuts them back to the group and watches them run for Papyrus and yank him into a kiss.

Sans sighs, happy for his brother and his little sibling. Happy they could both find love with each other.

Papyrus gestures to Sans excitedly, "SANS!! YOUR BOYFRIEND CALLED!! HE'S JOINING US AFTER ALL!!"

Sans's soul lifts into his throat. "fuzzball??" He asks breathlessly.

Papyrus smirks, so obviously pleased with himself. "I may have offered a bribe to the Federation in exchange for the forgiveness of his nation's debts. The Dreemurr kingdom will be joining the ranks of the Intergalactic Alliance as soon as they can!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~that's all, folks~
> 
> (EDIT: probably not actually gonna do any smut, unless I do a drabble book.)
> 
> the cards bit was Fiction_Travel's suggestion ;P I probably wouldn't have been that self-indulgent if it weren't for them ;P And the part with Bracken is thanks to Mikrebyle's suggestion. So, thank you both ;P 
> 
> Oh yeah, and I keep forgetting. About two-thirds of the made-up words are from Tolkien’s conlang, Quenya. 
> 
> And thanks to y'all for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. This is literally the first long fic I've ever actually finished writing from start to end, so I'm really stoked about it. The next chapter is unnecessary to read, it's just me whining because I was depressed, and I never felt like deleting it. 
> 
> **I have a discord server now!!** https://discord.gg/gZQ5qPQ
> 
> ####
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!! Thanks!! (seriously, I would love it if you commented, please leave a comment!!)
> 
> Chapter titles alternate between two different songs, ["Uninstall"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX2DgOCDuH0) from the Bokurano anime (the manga was better in all but this one regard) and ["Starlight Brigade"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9Q3i5w6-Ug) by TWRP (which has the best music video EVER). 
> 
> Questions/critique/praise encouraged!!
> 
> [!!ENDING THEME!! (Night Sky Patrol Of Tomorrow)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10lm0vynQCI)


	26. Author's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussion.

EDIT: I'm gonna leave the original AN up to give context to the comments, but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone, I'm sorry, I got depressed, but as someone said, I shouldn't let the amount of views or comments get to me. I should just appreciate what I have. And I really do, I appreciate every one of you. I'm going to leave this work mostly untouched with only cosmetic revisions, and I've given up on the whole 'making a separate version' idea and just move on to new stories. Thanks, y'all ;P

EDIT (2/10/20): I'm working on the second draft for the story now. It's going to be called "To Ignite A Soul" and it will hopefully be much better in quality than this draft. I won't start posting it until I'm finished, though, which may be never depending on whether I lose motivation for it or not. Thank you to everyone who commented, kudosed, subscribed, bookmarked, and even to those of you who just read :D I love all of you. I'm going to try my best!!

* * *

(10/15/19)

Hey, y'all. Thanks for reading. 

I realized very early on that this was not going to be as popular as I thought it would be. Apparently very few people are interested in an epic journey across space. I was particularly disappointed when the last two chapters garnered only three comments altogether, when I was expecting the story's end to have a greater send-off. Maybe that's my own arrogance, but I really thought this was a story that more people would enjoy. Writing has been my life for three years. I put all my passion into this story. And so it's really depressing when only a handful of people actually like it and I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

So in the hope that more people will like this, I'm going to be taking all Star Trek elements out of this story when I edit it and replacing them with my own world-building. The general plot will remain the same, it will still be in space, but the Star Trek world will be omitted. Other improvements will be made, too, but this is going to be the most drastic change and I thought I should let you all know. I'm considering also leaving this work untouched with only cosmetic edits and posting the altered version one chapter a week as a new work to see if that will get more attention.

If any of you have any further suggestions regarding what I should alter/leave in for the second (probably final) draft, please, feedback is really important to me. I get euphoric every time I see someone commented and I love replying. And if I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I can't fix it. And sorry if I'm acting petulant over nothing, but it kind of hurts even though the few people who did comment have always said wonderful things and been so encouraging.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Pride Is Not The Opposite Of Shame, But Its Source](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21622354) by [RyftWyrd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyftWyrd/pseuds/RyftWyrd)




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